Gasly’s Monaco third place reinstated on appeal

Pierre Gasly has been reinstated to the Monaco Grand Prix podium after Alpine successfully lobbied the stewards to rescind his pit lane speeding penalties.

Gasly (pictured above getting the good news in Barcelona) finished third on the road in Monte Carlo, but a pair of five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane demoted him to seventh after the race and promoted Isack Hadjar into his place.

He was one of five drivers to receive a speeding penalty – an unusually significant number – in a spate of incidents thought initially to be related to the reshaping of the Monte Carlo pit lane this season. Alpine, however, lobbied for a right of review based on what turned out to be faulty data relating to the length of the pit lane.

Pit lane speed is measured by a series of timing loops that calculate average speed down the lane. However, the stewards found in their review that both the FIA and Formula One Management (FOM) were aware that “the distance used in calculating the F1 official timing (and hence the pit lane speed) was inaccurate” and thereby incorrectly estimated Gasly’s speed.

The report stated that the measurement used to calculate speed was out by 77cm (30.3in). Gasly had originally been found to have been speeding by 0.1km/h and 0.4km/h (0.06mph and 0.25mph).

“We welcome the decision made by the FIA to deem our right of review as admissible following the final classification of last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix,” Alpine said in a statement. “We would like to thank the FIA and Formula One Management for [their] transparency and co-operation throughout the right of review process and for reaching this decision.

“The team’s focus is now very much on this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and striving for the best possible result with both of its cars.”

Gasly, who was distraught at the end of the Monaco Grand Prix, thanked his team for fighting in his corner.

“Been a rollercoaster of emotions the last few days, weird celebrations, but most importantly, incredibly happy we got our result back,” he wrote on social media. “Huge thanks to my amazing team and all the people who supported us!

“Thanks FIA & F1 for the transparency of the situation. One to remember!”

Gasly moving back to third place strips Hadjar of what had been his first podium for Red Bull Racing and just the second rostrum appearance of his career. Oscar Piastri is bumped down to fifth, with Liam Lawson classified sixth and Arvid Lindblad seventh.

The successful right of review will be cold comfort to George Russell, whose catastrophic drive-through penalty that left him scoreless stemmed from him and his team improperly serving a five-second penalty for speeding.

Oscar Piastri lost three places serving a speeding penalty during the race, while Lewis Hamilton managed to hold onto second place by serving his penalty during the first safety car.

Gasly’s teammate, Franco Colapinto, had his five-second penalty applied post race, though he finished out of the points.

The stewards findings relate only to Gasly’s penalties as Alpine was the only team to protest the result.