Five days after the Monaco Grand Prix, the race result changed on Friday when stewards confirmed Alpine had won their Right of Review case against Pierre Gasly's penalties. The Frenchman originally finished third but was demoted to seventh after a second, unserved five-second penalty was applied. That penalty has now been scrubbed, and his podium finish reinstated.
Pit Lane Speeding Controversy
Gasly was one of several drivers penalized for speeding in the pit lane during the race. His teammate Franco Colapinto also received a five-second penalty, as did Lewis Hamilton, Oscar Piastri, and George Russell. The penalty proved especially consequential for Russell, who did not serve his correctly, leading to a drive-through penalty that ended his chances of scoring points.
It was clear at the time that there was an issue in the pit lane, with multiple drivers suggesting the system that times cars entering the pits and calculates their speed may have been flawed. This has now been confirmed, but a quirk of the regulations means only Alpine and Gasly can have their penalties overturned.
Other Teams Cannot Appeal
Alpine swiftly requested a Right of Review with the FIA, but they were the only team to do so. Mercedes did not try to have Russell's initial penalty overturned, nor did Ferrari with Hamilton or McLaren with Piastri. This is one of two reasons why Alpine's successful Right of Review will not serve as a precedent. None of the other teams submitted their Right of Review in time. Additionally, since the time penalties for Russell, Hamilton, and Piastri were all served during the Grand Prix, there is no way to undo them.
The stewards addressed this in their official decision document: "Other cars were penalised, some served their penalty, and this regrettably impacted their race strategies and therefore their race result. There will undoubtedly remain questions as to whether those breaches were genuine. There is no regulation that gives the stewards the power to 'undo' a served penalty. In any case, it is impossible to imagine how such power could be applied."
F1 Teams 'Furious' Over Decision
Representatives from multiple other teams attended Thursday's hearing and argued against Alpine's request. Red Bull's head of sporting matters, Stephen Knowles, argued that teams knew the pit lane speed calculations were "imperfect." McLaren sporting director Will Courtenay backed that point, while VCARB sporting director Marco Perroni questioned whether the trundle wheel Alpine used to measure the pit lane after the race could be considered accurate enough.
Despite these protests, the stewards found in favor of Alpine, much to the annoyance of teams that have lost points as a result. Isack Hadjar has been stripped of his first podium as a Red Bull driver, Piastri drops to fifth, and Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad slip to sixth and seventh in the final Monaco GP classification as Gasly's third place is restored.
McLaren is reportedly considering whether to appeal the stewards' decision. A high-level source within Mercedes told Express Sport that the team is "absolutely furious" with the situation, even though they did not lose any points from Gasly being reinstated to the podium.
