Championship leader Lewis Hamilton on Tuesday said he was "disappointed but not depressed" with the FIA's decision to reject the appeal against his stripped Belgian GP victory.

The International Court of Appeal on Tuesday announced that the appeal, lodged by Hamilton's team McLaren, was not admissible because drive-through penalties - even when they take the form of a 25-second time penalty - are not subject to appeal.

"People will probably expect me to be depressed about today's result, but that isn't me," said the British driver, whose 1 point lead over Ferrari's Felipe Massa would have been increased to 7 had the appeal succeeded.

"I'm disappointed, yes, but not depressed. All I want to do now is put this matter behind me and get on with what we drivers do best: racing each other," Hamilton, 23, added.

Team chief executive Martin Whitmarsh said he was disappointed that the Court of Appeal offered "no ruling on the substance of our appeal".

Source: GMM