The World Motor Sport Council's decision to remove all of McLaren's 2007 constructors' championship points made it virtually inevitable that Ferrari would win this year's teams' title - and Kimi Raikkonen and Felipe Massa's crushing one-two in the Belgian Grand Prix provided final confirmation.
It also kept Ferrari's hopes of sneaking the drivers' championship just about alive. Raikkonen gained five points on Hamilton at Spa, and is now only 13 adrift with three races remaining.
"We haven't given up and we are still in the hunt," he said. "We reduced the gap again. We lost a little bit in the last race but I think anything can happen. There are still three races to go.