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White FIA logo on top of red and white Monaco flag F1 background

F1 team plead with FIA for review after lost Monaco Grand Prix podium

White FIA logo on top of red and white Monaco flag F1 background — Photo: © IMAGO

F1 team plead with FIA for review after lost Monaco Grand Prix podium

The FIA stewards handed out an overwhelming amount of penalties in Monaco this year

An F1 team has submitted a request to the FIA for a right of review following a penalty decision that stripped their driver of a podium at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Pierre Gasly emerged from Sunday's Monaco GP in tears as he faced the cameras for Viaplay.

The Alpine driver watched in disbelief as his hard-fought podium finish evaporated following two penalties for excessively speeding in the pit lane.

Outraged after the race, the Frenchman insisted he was robbed of what could have been a fantastic result, and his team have now filed a right of review.

In a chaotic race through Monte Carlo, Gasly crossed the finish line in third place—a result that should have been a huge boost for Alpine.

However, a cumulative 10-second penalty dropped him back to seventh in the official standings. He wasn’t alone either; Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, and team-mate Franco Colapinto also received penalties for breaching the pit lane speed limit.

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Gasly claims he was 'robbed' of Monaco podium

Gasly remained baffled by the stewards' decision and the penalties imposed when facing the cameras after the race.

"I still can’t wrap my head around it. I need some time to process what happened," he said emotionally.

"You finish third on the track in Monaco. It was a surreal weekend—we started ninth and remained flawless throughout the race."

According to Gasly, there was nothing wrong with his performance behind the wheel. "I checked with my team, and they confirmed the car’s speed limiter was set at 59.5 kilometers per hour, with a bit of leeway. I’m 200 per cent sure I activated it before both penalties. I just can’t believe this has happened."

He emphasised how rare such opportunities are for the Enstone-based team in today’s competitive F1 landscape. "You work so hard. I’ve been seized with every chance for 10 years, and it’s only earned me five podiums. We clearly deserved this one, and I can’t help but feel we’ve been robbed."

Drivers complain of pit lane software issue after penalty-strewn race

Oscar Piastri and George Russell have suggested that a software glitch might be behind the slew of pit lane penalties. "How many brilliant minds are in those pit boxes? How can so many drivers get penalised?" Gasly remarked in disbelief. "Exactly. They’re talking about differences of mere millimeters and decimal points on the speedometer. This isn’t something you expect to see in Formula 1."

The real sting for Gasly, however, is having missed out on the iconic podium ceremony in Monaco’s royal box. "My moment was stolen—I never got to stand on the podium or celebrate with champagne," he lamented.

Gasly is holding out hope that the FIA will thoroughly review the incident and the measurement systems used. "Hopefully, they’ll set things right and at least grant us some points," he concluded, aiming for 15 points instead of the six he’s been given pending a review.

Since the drivers penalised are united in the belief that a software glitch caused the pit lane speed infractions, Alpine has formally requested a right of review. The team is pushing for the stewards to re-examine the penalties, a move that could potentially overturn the race results from Monaco.

Sky Sports F1's Bernie Collins suggested after the race that an appeal wouldn't be possible for speeding in the pit lane, instead noting that the Monaco layout might have just caught the drivers out.

"Think of when you’re on a motorway, and you’ve got the gantries," she explained. "How they do it is they look at what time you were in each position? The time between them is how they work out your average speed through that zone.

"So, I think by cutting the corner more in the race because they’re pushing it harder than they were in practice, in that zone they have been over the 60kph limit.

"It’s an unusual pit entry here because you’re coming from a slower speed into the limited. Normally you’re coming from a higher speed down to the limiter. So, sometimes that can catch drivers out."

F1 RESULTS: Monaco GP race times and positions

Vincent Bruins
Written by
Vincent Bruins - Redacteur GPFans NL
Vincent Bruins (29) is een Nederlandse Formule 1-redacteur met vier jaar ervaring in de F1-journalistiek. Hij heeft meer dan tien jaar ervaring als redacteur en content creator in de GT-racerij. Hij duikt graag in de technische en sportieve reglementen. Zo weet Vincent alle ins en outs op het gebied van bijvoorbeeld de techniek van F1-bolides en straffen. Tevens schrijft hij bij GPFans columns.
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