Hamilton has been disqualified from Australian GP after a second stewards’ investigation on Thursday in Sepang, Malaysia decided both he and McLaren team had provided misleading evidence during a hearing held after the race.

Hamilton was promoted to third position after Trulli was handed a 25-second time penalty for passing Hamilton's McLaren under the Safety Car during the race’s closing laps.

Stewards decided to reinvestigate the incident after fresh evidence came to light. After the hearing, the stewards issued the following statement:

“The Stewards having considered the new elements presented to them from the 2009 Australian Formula One Grand Prix, consider that driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes acted in a manner prejudicial to the conduct of the event by providing evidence deliberately misleading to the Stewards at the hearing on Sunday 29th March 2009, a breach of Article 151c of the International Sporting Code.

"Under Article 158 of the International Sporting Code, the driver No 1 Lewis Hamilton and the competitor Vodafone McLaren Mercedes are excluded from the race classification for the 2009 Australian Grand Prix and the classification is amended accordingly."

Trulli’s penalty has been withdrawn so Trulli regains his third place.