Lewis Hamilton’s run of bad luck continues. After producing a sizzling performance to take the the Belgian Grand Prix, he was later denied it because of a technical infringement on one of the chicanes.

The officials — who seem to have it in for him — reduced his placing from 1st to 3rd, leaving main rival Felipe Massa only two points adrift in the title race.

The moment of truth came as Hamilton attempted to overtake Kimi Raikkonen’s Ferrari at the Bus Stop chicane three laps from the finish. The leaders entered the chicane side by side as their tyres touched. As a result Hamilton cut across the inside of the chicane and emerged in the lead. Following the rules, he braked to allow Raikkonen to pass him, before going at him again and overtaking on the inside.

Raikkonen then took Hamilton again but crashed on the penultimate lap due to running on dry tyres on a wet track.

Two hours later, after Hamilton had celebrated his victory with champagne on the podium after one of Formula One’s classic races — his fifth win of the season — he was told that instead of an eight-point lead over Felipe Massa in the drivers’ championship, his advantage had been cut to two points.

The McLaren team intend to appeal against the 25-second drive-through penalty imposed on their driver. A strong suspicion remains that they always comes off second-best in a dispute with Ferrarl.

Positions in the Drivers’ Championship
1 Lewis Hamilton GB 76
2 Felipe Massa Bra 74
3 Robert Kubica Pol 58
4 Kimi Räikkönen Fin 57
5 Nick Heidfeld Ger 49
6 Heikki Kovalainen Fin 43
7 Jarno Trulli Ita 26
8 Fernando Alonso Spa 23

It’s not exactly what you would call success to start on pole position for a Grand Prix but finish fifth. Yet that’s what Lewis Hamilton did in the Hungarian GP and celebrated afterwards.

Lewis Hamilton after gaining pole in Hungary

In mitigation, he lost out to a bullish start by Felipe Massa who gambled on an outrageous outside passing manoeuvre on the first bend. Hamilton later suffered a puncture, but managed to limp to the pits and re-enter the race.

Hamilton was helped by his nearest rival, Massa, blowing his engine three laps out. He thus retains his World Championship lead by 5 points from Kimi Raikkonen.

The race was won by Hamilton’s McLaren team-mate, Heikki Kovalainen.

Earlier
On a track notorious for the difficulty of overtaking, Lewis Hamilton is in pole for the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After a courageous win in Germany a fortnight ago when his team made a crucial mistake that initially sent him backwards through the field, and a stunning performance at Silverstone, Hamilton is now four points ahead in the Drivers’ Championship.

His McLaren team-mate Heikki Kovalainen is beside him on the front row. The Ferrari of Felipe Massa is in third, while Kimi Raikkonen’s recent run of poor form continued as the current world champion qualified in sixth place.

With a fair wind and a bit of luck, Hamilton should make it three in a row. This season though has been characterized by the ups and downs of unforced errors and rotten bad luck.

On a wet weekend in England, Heikki Kovalainen managed the first pole position of his career and succeeded in putting his McLaren team-mate Lewis Hamilton in the shade, back in fourth spot on the grid.

Lewis Hamilton greeted by his team at Silverstone

That was Saturday’s Qualifying. The British Grand Prix itself was a very different picture.

Former World Champion, Jackie Stewart watched Hamilton complete the drive of his life to claim a race rendered treacherous by torrential rain.

He later said, “What we saw was a masterful drive. He really behaved himself beautifully. The outstanding talent this young man has was fully demonstrated, because you couldn’t get conditions any more difficult than that.”

This was Hamilton’s third win of the season, and puts the British ace into a share of the championship lead with chief rivals, current Champion, Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa. The two Ferrari drivers were among many to spin on a track often awash with water.

The 90,000 crowd gave Hamilton an overwhelming ovation, well aware that this victory puts him in serious contention for this year’s title. He just needs to avoid the kind of rush of blood to the head we’ve seen too often this season, and his tendency to “overdrive” on occasions.

Ferrari’s Felipe Massa won the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, his third victory of the 2008 season.

The Brazilian now takes over the lead in the Formula One world championship for the first time in his short career, spanning six-seasons.

He also became the first Brazilian to top the drivers’ list since his hero, Ayrton Senna, dominated 15 years ago.

The other Ferrari driver, Kimi Raikkonen, started the race from pole and led into the first corner, before meeting exhaust problems.

Lewis Hamilton suffered from accumulated woes, going back to the Canadian Grand Prix. A drive-through penalty saw him starting 13th on the grid. Various factors wrecked his race and he finished predictably out of the points. He now trails Massa by 10 points.

Before the race he told ITV, “I found out that there was a lot of negativity in the media, and that’s to be expected. That’s what they do: they build you up and then they break you down, but they can’t break me. There’s a lot of crap coming out in the papers. I’m here to race, and I don’t want all this stuff. But I’m very strong mentally, and my belief in my own ability is stronger than ever and there’s nothing that can break me.”

Massa’s victory was the eighth of his Formula One career.