Hamilton escapes

The 22-year-old Briton had seemed resigned to being punished for his part in the collision between Mark Webber and Sebastian Vettel that eliminated both behind the safety car.

But, following a stewards meeting involving all three drivers and the now infamous youtube video showing the accident that Formula One's official cameras missed, the McLaren driver was cleared of any wrongdoing.

The stewards also reduced Vettel's ten place grid penalty for this race for his part in the accident, to a reprimand.

Had the decision gone against Hamilton, he could have been penalised ten places on the grid for this weekend's Chinese Grand Prix or even stripped of his Japanese victory.

Hamilton leads the world championship by 12 points from team-mate Fernando Alonso and will become the first rookie to win the title if he wins the Shanghai race.