For those of you saying that this is BS:

THESE ARE THE RULES, PERIOD. If you cut a chicane, you will loose time. Who remember Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna on the title race in Japan years ago?

How exactly did Hamilton get an advantage when he entered the Chicane ahead of the Ferrari, and was later squarely behind it (as it swerved) down the front straight? So what's the rule now -- Complete stop? drop back 5 seconds?

Your all missing the obvious. He didnt CUT the corner to begin with, he was FORCED off. This nothing more than the blatent bias the FIA (and Max) have shown towards McLaren all season, with the bonus (in their minds) of "creating" a thilling championship.

So apparently Lewis's mistake was "slipstreaming" back around Kimi, once he'd given up the lead. Is slipstreaming now illegal? And just how much of a tow can there be between the chicane and the short run to the next corner, at reduced speed, in the wet?

You all seem to have forgotten that Massa did essentially the same thing in Spain but was only fined 10,000 Euros. Why were the penalties different for the two teams? How much of this is animosity toward McLaren or, worse, the first Black in F1?

Unfortunate for Lewis.
I haven't actually seen the incident in question yet, but I'm definitely gonna check it out...
...hopefully this doesn't cost him the championship (much like the Detroit incident cost Helio in IRL).

Oh yeah, it must be a black-white thing... again.

Quote"Kimi's block was clearly legal. Lewis took advantage of the off, continuing to accelerate even though he KNEW he could not legally complete the pass, PLANNING to use the gain to slip closer into Kimi's draft after cleverly conceding the move"

Are you kidding, Hamilton didn't drive or drift across the chicane. He was forced off while attempting (most observers would say successfully ) to pass Kimi. He was right behind Kimi, and in a perfect position to daft him to the next corner before he cut the chicane. So how much extra gap was Lewis suposed to give Raikkonen for forcing him off the track even though Hamilton had position? I'm starting to have a much harder time dismissing all of those comments Flavio Briatore used to make about F1 rigging everything to favor Ferrari.

This is unbelievable. Another example of the animosity harbored against McLaren and Ron Dennis.

Discraceful !

The BBC article linked below is perhaps the best summary I have seen of the issue. http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A40707876?s_fromedit=1&s_type=15&s_sport=motorsport Lewis' actions are open for interpretation, and that is the problem. He could have removed all doubt by following Kimi through the hairpin and then executing his pass (I think we can all agree that Lewis was much faster than Kimi, it was just a matter of time).

McLaren was so unsure of Lewis' actions that they called Charlie Whiting to see if the move was legal:

"Dennis revealed that the team checked with Whiting after the move whether Hamilton had conformed with the regulations." from http://formula-one.speedtv.com/article/f1-whiting-reckons-no-penalty-for-hamilton-dennis-says/

That right there should have been a sign to the entire McLaren team that the actions were open to interpretation. The easy fix? Back off for one corner, then attack. Sorry, but Lewis and McLaren did this one to themselves. They created doubt, and they shouldn't be surprised that it came back to bite them.