KUALA LUMPUR - McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of his third-place finish at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix for giving misleading evidence to race stewards, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli reinstated to third.

KUALA LUMPUR - McLaren's Lewis Hamilton has been stripped of his third-place finish at the Australian Formula One Grand Prix for giving misleading evidence to race stewards, with Toyota's Jarno Trulli reinstated to third.

The sport's world governing body FIA reopened an investigation yesterday into the circumstances in which Trulli passed Hamilton during a safety car period in Melbourne.

A post-race stewards hearing in Australia penalised Trulli 25 seconds, dropping him from third to 12th.

Stewards ruled yesterday, after hearing team radio transmissions from the Australian GP, that Hamilton and the McLaren team gave "deliberately misleading" evidence to the Melbourne hearing.

Hamilton, who was originally listed in fourth place at Melbourne was excluded from any points for the race. - Sapa