Spyker`s Sutil Handed Eighth Place in Japan

Spyker collected their first Formula One point on Sunday.

Spyker collected their first Formula One point on Sunday after Germany's Adrian Sutil was promoted to eighth place following an appeal to Japanese Grand Prix stewards.

The rookie had finished ninth, one place behind Toro Rosso's Italian Vitantonio Liuzzi.

However the stewards decided that Liuzzi had overtaken illegally under a yellow warning flag 12 laps from the finish and gave him a 25-second penalty.

The point lifted Ferrari-powered Spyker, about to be sold for 88 million euros ($123 million) to a group led by Indian billionaire Vijay Mallya and Dutchman Michiel Mol, to ninth place in the constructors' standings.

The ruling also stripped Toro Rosso, Red Bull's sister team, of what would have been their first point of the year.

"We had clear evidence that Liuzzi passed Adrian under yellow flags and I am pleased that the Stewards of the Meeting agreed," said team boss Colin Kolles in a statement.

"The decision, which has ultimately given us our first-ever point, is a just reward for Adrian, who drove an excellent race today.

"Now we have this milestone ticked off, we can focus on moving forward and being in the points on a more regular basis. We're all looking forward to China now."

The penultimate race of the season is in Shanghai next weekend.