/world sport
LONDON, England -- McLaren launched an appeal in London on Thursday which, if successful, could hand the world championship to their star driver Lewis Hamilton.
McLaren chief operating officer Mike Whitmarsh arrives for the crucial hearing.
Motorsport's world governing body the FIA will rule on McLaren's appeal over a decision not to punish BMW Sauber and Williams for using "cool fuel" at the season-ending Brazilian Grand Prix.
If the FIA sides with McLaren, Hamilton could be promoted to fourth and end up with enough points to take the title from Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen.
Rookie sensation Hamilton went into the final race of the season at Interlagos needing only to finish in the top four to clinch the world championship, but technical problems saw him finish seventh, leaving Raikkonen as the champion by a single point.
However, fuel irregularities were later discovered in relation to the BMW Sauber and Williams cars, with Nico Rosberg, Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld finishing fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
Although the stewards at the race declared the result valid after a lengthy hearing, McLaren decided to take the issue further, prompting a special hearing of the FIA.
McLaren connections claim that they are only appealing to clarify the rules rather than to help Hamilton. who has already said that he does not want to win the title in this fashion.
But Ferrari are taking the hearing very seriously and have hired Nigel Tozzi QC to represent Raikkonen's interests.
Tozzi led the Ferrari legal team at an earlier FIA hearing in September which led to McLaren being found guilty in the F1 "spying scandal" and fined a record $100 million as well as being stripped of all their 2007 points in the constructors' championship.
The decision is expected on Friday. E-mail to a friend 
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed | Top Searches |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
