McLaren failed in its appeal to have Lewis Hamilton reinstated as winner of the recent Belgian Grand Prix, leaving Ferrari's Felipe Massa just a point behind the Briton with four races to go in the Formula one race.
Hamilton was dropped from first to third after the September 7 race because of a 25-second penalty inflicted for not giving an advantage back to Massa's teammate Kimi Raikkonen in a battle for the lead.
The court of appeal of motor racing's governing body FIA said McLaren's appeal was inadmissible and the race stewards' decision must stand.
The court confirmed that the penalty would normally have been a drive-through penalty, which cannot be appealed.
Drive-throughs - where drivers are forced to drive slowly through the pit lane - are normally applied during a race but in Hamilton's case the infraction occurred too near the end to apply the rule, the court said.
The incident happened when Hamilton was pressing Raikkonen in the wet and cut across the last chicane in front of him.
He pulled back behind Raikkonen, as regulations require, but stayed in the Finn's slipstream and overtook him almost immediately on the straight.
The stewards therefore judged that he had not really handed back the advantage, contrary to Hamilton's claim that he acted correctly.
The F1 championship leader argued that Raikkonen went wide at the corner and forced him across the chicane.
After the FIA ruling, McLaren and Hamilton said they were disappointed but wanted to put it behind them and concentrate on the remaining races.
''People will probably expect me to be depressed about today's result, but that isn't me,'' Hamilton told his team's website.
''All I want to do now is...get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other.
''We're racers, we're naturally competitive, and we love to overtake. Overtaking is difficult, and it feels great when you manage to pull off a great passing manoeuvre.
''If it pleases the spectators and TV viewers, it's better still. So I'm disappointed, yes, but not depressed''.
FOUR RACES TO GO.
FIA has subsequently made it clear that a driver who has restored a rival's lead because of an infraction must wait until the next corner before attacking him.
The win for Massa left the Brazilian two points behind Hamilton ahead of the Italian Grand Prix on September 14 where Massa gained another point in a rain-affected race that saw the top pair finish sixth and seventh.
With Raikkonen apparently out of contention having crashed out at Spa and failing to score at Monza, the title battle appears to be a two-man race between Massa and Hamilton.
Hamilton has 78 points, Massa 77, BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica 64 and Raikkonen 57.
The F1 circus travels to Singapore on Sunday September 28, Japan on October 12, China on October 19 and Brazil on November 2.
