London, Oct.22 : Lewis Hamilton's bid to be this year's Formula One champion ended in failure on Sunday.

British hero Hamilton was pipped to the crown by a point by Kimi Raikkonen in last night's Brazilian Grand Prix.

According to The Sun, night stewards cleared Raikkonnen's victory after several meetings that centered around a probe into fuel temperature irregularities with three drivers.

McLaren rookie Hamilton would have snatched the title if F1 chiefs had disqualified Williams ace Nico Rosberg, plus BMW pair Robert Kubica and Nick Heidfeld.

But stewards imposed no penalty on the drivers - although BMW and Williams could yet lose their constructors' points.

Hamilton had only finished seventh after early blunders and gearbox failure left him way down the field.

His hopes were briefly revived last night. And a precedent was set 12 years ago which had offered Hamilton some hope

Michael Schumacher's Benetton Renault and David Coulthard's Williams were initially disqualified for fuel breaches after coming first and second.
But a week later the FIA - F1's rulers - reinstated the drivers' points and wiped out both teams' points in the constructors' championship. (ANI)