The result of the Monaco Grand Prix has been altered once more, with Pierre Gasly reinstated to the podium following a successful appeal by the Alpine team. This decision has sparked outrage from rival teams, particularly Mercedes.
Gasly's Reinstatement
The race initially saw Kimi Antonelli take the win, Lewis Hamilton in second, and Isack Hadjar completing the podium. However, Gasly was one of five drivers penalized with two five-second time penalties, dropping him from third to seventh. The other penalized drivers included Hamilton, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and Franco Colapinto.
Alpine met with race stewards and the FIA, presenting evidence that led to a successful appeal. The stewards acknowledged a "significant and relevant new element" provided by the team, which reinstated Gasly to third place.
Official Statement
The stewards' official statement read: "Following the acceptance of the petition, the finding of its admissibility... the stewards' sole task is to determine if Car 10 [Gasly] exceeded the speed limit of 60 km/h in the pit lane. We determine that it did not."
Gasly's Reaction
Gasly expressed his delight at the development, having felt "very low" after the race. He told Sky Sports: "I'm extremely happy for the whole team, very proud of the whole team for the way they got that result. Sunday night I felt very low. A lot of mixed emotions - proud of the performance, extremely sad about the whole decision and situation, some injustice in that situation. And I wasn't sure how things would move forward. The team did an amazing job. I'm very proud of F1 and the FIA for the transparency and everyone recognising their responsibilities in that situation."
He added: "We all know that with everything at stake, we look at World Championships in all different sports, we know how complicated things can be. Today, it's a massive step forward for our sport."
Mercedes' Fury
Despite the positive atmosphere at Alpine, Mercedes chief Toto Wolff confirmed he has spoken to the team's lawyers, who are considering a potential challenge to Russell's time penalties. A source close to Mercedes confirmed the team were "livid" and Wolff believes Gasly's successful appeal now has "massive implications" for the rest of the drivers.
Russell did not observe his penalty correctly and was further penalized with a drive-through penalty, dropping him from third to 13th. He admitted it was the "latest kick in the balls" as he now trails Antonelli by 68 points in the driver's championship.
Wolff's Legal Threat
Wolff has threatened legal action, stating: "For us as a team, and especially for George, it has massive implications. Clearly without the penalty, and without us not serving it correctly, it would have been a totally different outcome for his race. We are assessing as we speak what the Gasly situation does for George. Obviously there are certain timing restraints. We wouldn’t appeal the Gasly result but we’d like the FIA to look at what could be the remedies for George’s race."
When asked what Mercedes would hope to achieve, the Austrian added: "Well I think talks definitely going forward. But we also need to look at… when I left we were on the phone with our lawyers to see what we can do for George. The drive-through, if it didn’t happen, was equivalent to 20 seconds race time. What would that have meant for his result? Do we think realistically we have a chance of reversing the result? I don’t think so. But we definitely have to give it a go if we see there is a millimetre of a chance to do so, and bring him back to whatever it was, P3 or P4."
