LONDON, England (CNN) -- Lewis Hamilton insists he did nothing wrong in his tussle with Kimi Raikkonen, which ended in his being stripped of a Belgian Grand Prix win.
Lewis Hamilton and Kimi Raikkonen vie for the lead of the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.
The Englishman was handed a retrospective 25-second drive-through penalty after cutting a corner, a decision which saw him drop from first to third behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa and Nick Heidfeld, of BMW Sauber.
The race stewards stated the move had given him an unfair advantage but Hamilton stressed he had complied with the rules by allowing Raikkonen back through before repassing him at the next corner.
"I caught Kimi and I was in a good position to dive down the inside at turn 18," he said.
"He covered his spot, which was fair, but he braked very, very early, so I was able to go round the outside.
"I left him enough room, yet he accelerated or picked up more pace going into the corner, and drove me as wide as he possibly could.
Do you think Hamilton has been harshly treated?
"I had no road left. There was a question I had to ask: if I stay where I am, I'm going to go over the Astroturf bit behind the last kerb and go over it and hit him. Or I go left.
"That was the option I had to do, I did it. I knew that I had to let him past and also the team came over the radio and said 'you have to let him past,' which I did.
"Fortunately I got back in his slipstream and again, he moved to the inside and back to the outside and again, I dodged him and went up the inside.
"That was a great fight and I don't think there was anything wrong there. The rules say you should let him back past, which I did," Hamilton said.
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