McLaren Qualifying Protest Rejected

Stewards rejected a sweeping protest filed by McLaren after the qualifying session for the Belgian Formula One Grand Prix.

McLaren boss Ron Dennis told reporters that his team had filed an official protest against the provisional qualifying times recorded by 17 of the 22 cars - including one of his own McLarens.

If upheld, it would likely have forced a massive reshuffle in the grid positions for Sunday's race and cost the Williams team their front row sweep.

The problem arose after Nick Heidfeld's Sauber was left stranded at the side of the track with three minutes remaining in a frantic session and as cars continued to lap under yellow warning flags. Dennis had argued that 17 of the cars had set their fastest laps under the yellow flag.

He said he had appealed to "try and understand why the regulation is being interpreted in a specific way that it hasn't been interpreted before", he said. "The regulations say that if you go through a yellow flag and set a fastest time in that sector, you lose your fastest lap."

The stewards disagreed with the protest.

"Having heard the arguments of the team manager, having looked closely into all available data and information and taking into account the rapid change of track conditions, the stewards...decide to reject the protest," an official statement said.