Stewart: Spa will spur on Hamilton

"He did nothing wrong in Belgium and Niki Lauda agrees with me on that. The rules are written in such a way that they are one-sided and appeals are doomed to failure.

"That isn't Lewis's fault but the FIA's. They have to get it sorted."

Stewart hit out at the appointment of amateur stewards to govern each F1 race: it was those in Belgium who imposed a 25-second time penalty on Hamilton after deciding the 23-year-old Briton had not conformed to the rules after a failed overtaking manoeuvre against title-holder Kimi Raikkonen.

Hamilton took the lead when he cut a chicane at the climax to a dramatic grand prix but McLaren believed their driver did enough by conceding the lead back to Raikkonen before making a successful pass at the next corner.

The stewards, backed yesterday by the Appeal Court sitting at the FIA headquarters in Paris, had other ideas, but Stewart said: "These kind of decisions are simply not consistent. I strongly believe there has to be a look at the governance of the sport.

"To be blunt, you are talking about part-time amateurs who have a huge amount of influence over the sport. We have to change that, otherwise the sport risks losing all credibility.

"What we need is the appointment of full-time stewards, who are directly accountable to the FIA. Just as Premiership football referees are accountable to the Football Association, or tennis umpires are accountable to the ATP and WTA.

"It's beyond my comprehension why the multinational companies who pour millions of pounds into F1 are content to let this situation stay as it is."

Had Hamilton's victory in Belgium been allowed to stand, he would have gone to the grid in Singapore with a seven-point lead over Massa.

Now, it looks like the championship battle will go to the final chequered flag in Brazil on 2 November.

Typically, Hamilton insisted the decision will not shake his resolve.

He said: "People will expect me to be depressed about the result, but that isn't me. All I want to do now is put this matter behind me and get on with racing."