McLaren press ahead with appeal

Temperature readings taken from a fuel rig sensor during the pitstops of both cars of both teams during Sunday's race were potentially lower than the permitted minimum temperature stated in the Formula One Technical Regulations.

However, the stewards of the race said there was insufficient conclusive evidence to pass judgement on the legality of the cars, and decided not to penalise the teams.

McLaren have decided to appeal this decision, and the FIA said an official notice of the appeal has now been received by the International Court of Appeal.

"The FIA has been informed by the Secretariat of the International Court of Appeal that they have received a Notification of Appeal from the UK National Sporting Authority (RAC MSA) on behalf of Vodafone McLaren Mercedes," the governing body said in a statement.

"The Vodafone McLaren Mercedes appeal is against the decision of the Stewards of the 2007 Brazilian Grand Prix, made at 21.35 hrs on October 21st 2007 (document number 41), that it was inappropriate to impose a penalty on cars 9, 10, 16 and 17."

Williams's Nico Rosberg finished the Brazilian Grand Prix in fourth place, with BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld in fifth and sixth.

McLaren's Lewis Hamilton, who finished the race in seventh, thus lost the drivers' world championship by a single point. Should Rosberg, Kubica and Heidfeld be disqualified, the Briton could move up the order to gain enough points to claim the title.

Hamilton would need two more points to take the championship away from Ferrari's Kimi Raikkonen, but the 22-year-old rookie said he would not feel comfortable winning the championship through the appeal process.

Mercedes motorsport director Norbert Haug also emphasised McLaren are not appealing in order to claim the championship.

"It's not about our team winning the title in court," he said. "We just want to get some clarifications on the contents of the regulations and this is in the interest of every team."

The International Court of Appeal will now need to accept the case and determine a date for the hearing.