Sepang, Malaysia - Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton was on Thursday stripped of his third place finish from last Sunday's Australian Grand Prix, race stewards in Sepang said.

The McLaren-Mercedes driver originally finished fourth, but was promoted to third after race stewards penalized Toyota's Jarno Trulli for overtaking during a safety car phase.

An investigation held by race stewards in Sepang, where Sunday's Malaysian Grand Prix will be held, found that Hamilton and his team had deliberately handed in evidence that had given stewards a wrong impression of what had happened in Melbourne.

As a result Hamilton and McLaren were removed from the classification of the Australian Grand Prix, while Trulli was reinstated as third place finisher. (dpa)