Lewis faces a write-off in France

Lewis Hamilton has been written off by his own team as far as the French Grand Prix is concerned.

Hamilton was leading in Montreal on Sunday when he ploughed his McLaren into the back of Kimi Raikkonen's Ferrari after failing to stop at the pit-lane red light.

It knocked both drivers out of the race and cost Hamilton a 10-place drop down the starting grid at Magny-Cours on 22 June.

"That will clearly affect our approach in France," said McLaren chief executive Martin Whitmarsh. "We regard the decision as hard but fair. Hard in the sense that it clearly makes Lewis's task more difficult in Magny-Cours, but fair on the grounds that he did cause an avoidable accident."

Hamilton's relegation down the grid means McLaren's best hopes of success now rest with Finland's Heikki Kovalainen, who finished ninth in Canada.

Whitmarsh said: "We know Heikki puts a lot of pressure on himself but we believe in him. In reality, he's the guy who is our best hope of winning the French Grand Prix."