The penalty prompted global press discussion, primarily from the United Kingdom and Italy, with several former drivers questioning the decision.

[10] The first session was held on a dry track under cloudy skies; Massa was fastest with a time of 1:47.284, just quicker than his Ferrari teammate Räikkönen.

[11] Light rain during the second session grew momentarily heavier halfway through, forcing the teams to switch to their wet set-ups.

Hamilton led for most of the running, before Alonso, Massa and Kovalainen set faster times late in the session on a drying track.

[12] Räikkönen, Piquet, Coulthard, Bourdais and Webber all had off-track excursions with little damage done; a Fisichella spin at Stavelot forced the session to be halted for ten minutes while the debris was removed and water was cleared from the track.

[13] Conditions had not improved by the following morning for the start of the final period of practice, but a drying track late in the session allowed Heidfeld to record the best time, a 1:47.876, ahead of Kovalainen, Alonso, Hamilton, Massa, Vettel and Räikkönen.

Cars failing to make the final period were allowed to be refuelled before the race but those competing in it were not, and so carried more fuel than they had done in the earlier qualifying sessions.

Today, we lacked a bit of speed compared to our main rivals but the race is very long and, over a distance, we know we can be very competitive and therefore we are capable of fighting for the win ... Then, we will have to see what the various strategy choices are and obviously, how the weather evolves.

Bourdais – after setting the quickest time in the first session – took ninth, one place ahead of his Toro Rosso teammate Vettel.

Coulthard and Rosberg took the next two grid spots, ahead of the Honda pair of Rubens Barrichello and Jenson Button, who both believed they had maximised the performance of their cars.

"[27] On lap 17, Rubens Barrichello retired with a gearbox problem, suffering from a failing sixth gear and engine over-revving.

[29] The rain started coming down more heavily and Nico Rosberg spun at Fagnes corner, rejoining in front of the two frontrunners and causing Hamilton to run onto the grass.

Conversely, Toro Rosso drivers Bourdais and Vettel, who were third and fourth with one lap to go, were pushed down to seventh and fifth positions due to the lack of grip of their dry-weather tyres.

[32] Timo Glock was handed a 25-second penalty for overtaking Mark Webber under yellow flags during the final lap of the race.

But then he hit me at the apex of the corner but I think I was pretty much gone from there.Two hours after the race, the FIA stewards for the race issued a statement announcing that Hamilton was guilty of contravening Article 30.3 (a) of the 2008 FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations and Appendix L, Chapter 4, Article 2 (g) of the International Sporting Code, which both state that cutting a chicane and gaining an advantage is subject to a drive-through penalty.

[37] In the appeal hearing on 22 September, McLaren alleged that they had twice been advised by race director Charlie Whiting that Hamilton had correctly returned the position to Räikkönen.

[38] Furthermore, they presented telemetry evidence suggesting that Hamilton had not only crossed the finish line after Räikkönen, but that he was travelling 6.7 km/h (4.2 mph) slower at the time.

[39][40] McLaren's lawyer Mark Phillips QC attempted to convince the court that since the penalty was in the form of time added on, the case was valid.

[44] Trulli believed that "Hamilton got an advantage by cutting the chicane", saying, "Had he stayed on the road, he wouldn't have had the speed to overtake the Ferrari.

[45] Former world champion Niki Lauda said that he did "not understand this completely wrong decision",[46] adding "It's unbelievable how the best driver in yesterday's race makes no mistakes and only gets six points".

[47] Three-time world champion Jackie Stewart said that "F1 attracts the largest capital investment in sport, but it's being overseen by people who are not doing it full-time and we get inconsistent decisions".

[49] The Finnish daily newspaper Helsingin Sanomat noted that though the Grand Prix had "crushed" Räikkönen's championship dreams, Hamilton had adhered "with the rules of racing" in giving the position back.

[50] In Italy, La Gazzetta dello Sport declared that the decision was justified, stating that Hamilton "should have waited at least another turn rather than attacking so soon".

[51] The incident and subsequent court hearing led to a clarification by the FIA, saying that drivers must wait one further corner after cutting a chicane before attempting another overtaking manoeuvre.