The decision to strip Lewis Hamilton of his victory at the Belgian Grand Prix has been greeted by a mixture of bemusement and cynicism in Britain.

Meanwhile one Italian media report said the race stewards decision to penalise the McLaren-Mercedes driver, thus gifting the race to Ferrari's Felipe Massa, was justified.

Italian media agreed that Ferrari will now have to make the Brazilian rather than defending champion Kim Raikkonen the team's number one driver.

Motorsport governing body FIA is now to determine whether McLaren has a right to pursue an appeal lodged Sunday evening after Hamilton was demoted to third place.

The ruling cuts the 23-year-old Briton's lead to just two points over Massa going into next Sunday's Italian Grand Prix at Monza - a home race for the Ferrari team.

Conspiracy theories were being aired in some of the British press after the stewards punished Hamilton with a 25-second penalty for cutting a chicane as he battled with Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.

Although Hamilton allowed Raikkonen to pass as he emerged on the straight, the stewards ruled he had gained an unfair advantage. Raikkonen crashed out soon afterwards and Hamilton took the chequered flag.

A McLaren spokesman said: "Having passed the lead back to Kimi, Lewis repositioned, moving his car across and behind Kimi to the right-hand line. He then outbraked him into the hairpin."

McLaren said it had handed all its data to the FIA stewards.

"It showed that, having lifted (off the accelerator), Lewis was 6 kph slower than Kimi as they crossed the start-finish line. Based on this data, we have no option other than to register our intention to appeal."

Former world champion Niki Lauda, who is a commentator on Germany's RTL television, said: "This is the worst judgment in the history of F1. The most perverted judgment I have ever seen.

"It's absolutely unacceptable when three functionaries (the stewards) influence the championship like this."

Germany's mass circulation Bild newspaper called the ruling "scandalous."

"The FIA has robbed the silver arrows (McLaren-Mercedes) of victory and made the world championships artificially exciting," it said.

It is not the first time this season Hamilton has been on the wrong side of a judgement, prompting allegations in sections of the British media of a pro-Ferrari bias.

Among sanctions this season, Hamilton and team-mate Heikki Kovalainen were handed five-place grid penalties for impeding other drivers in qualifying in Bahrain.

Hamilton was also demoted 10 places for the French Grand Prix after driving into the back of Raikkonen in the pit lane in the previous race in Canada.

Meanwhile Ferrari escaped with a fine for a near collision involving Massa at a controversial pit-stop at the previous race in Valencia.

The Times said Hamilton "produced one of his most daring performances" to win in Spa only to have victory taken away from him "by a hugely controversial retrospective punishment" by stewards.

It said there was "bitterness among some (McLaren) team members, who believe that their man is being picked on and that Ferrari drivers get off more lightly whenever a controversy erupts."

The Independent commented: "The decision to demote Lewis Hamilton to third place here yesterday will long be remembered as being farcical and disgraceful by all in motor racing."

The tabloid Mirror said Grand Prix racing was "back in the dock" after Hamilton was "robbed of one of the greatest victories of his career" and Massa rewarded for a "plodding" performance.

"And as he drove away from Spa-Francorchamps after another tawdry episode in the sport's history the 23-year-old must have wondered what he will have to do to win this world title."

A "stench" was emanating from F1, said the Mirror, which "mars sport and turns fans away, that ruins the efforts of even the best competitors, taints the day and leaves fans wondering what exactly they are 'fans' of."

The Mail said the "overwhelming feeling within the paddock as dusk descended over Spa was that Hamilton was the victim of a conspiracy against McLaren."

"Yes, it9s now five times in 13 races," it added, counting up the number of times Hamilton had been penalised this season.

In Spain, Marca sports daily said that "Massa was granted a victory he did not deserve," but in Italy, Il Tempo said it was a "just" ruling by the stewards which opens up the championship.

La Repubblica wrote: "It was a heavy decision, which we never, honestly, saw being taken by race officials and which brings the F1 to a level of legality that had never been seen before," .

But the "real judgement from Spa" was that Massa is now the number one at Ferrari with five races remaining, it said.