Pierre Gasly Monaco Podium Fight Revived as F1 Admits Timing System Mistake

• Alpine’s Right of Review has been upheld after Formula 1 Management admitted the system used to detect pit-lane speeding in Monaco overestimated drivers’ speeds.
• Pierre Gasly’s penalties were based on marginal infringements of just 0.1km/h and 0.4km/h over the speed limit, raising concerns about the accuracy of the FIA’s pit-lane monitoring process.
• A successful appeal could restore Gasly’s podium finish while potentially triggering wider scrutiny of Monaco penalties issued to several other drivers, including George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton.

The Right of Review lodged by Alpine following Pierre Gasly being stripped of a Monaco Grand Prix podium has been upheld, with Formula 1 Management admitting an error in how the pit-lane speeding penalties were measured.

Gasly was handed a total of 10 seconds in penalties for two separate speeding infractions in Monaco, costing the Frenchman a third-place finish that he would have inherited after George Russell received a post-race penalty of his own.

Alpine presented new, significant and relevant evidence during Thursday’s hearing that had not been available to the FIA stewards when the original penalties were issued. The key evidence was an admission from Formula 1 Management that the system used to determine whether a driver was speeding was “inaccurate and overestimated the speed”.

It is understood Gasly was recorded as being just 0.1km/h and 0.4km/h respectively over the 60km/h pit-lane speed limit, with six other drivers also receiving similar penalties.

The revelation raised concerns about the system used by the FIA to police pit-lane speeding. The process relies on timing loops that calculate speed based on the time taken to travel a measured distance. Given the unique driving lines taken by drivers through the pit lane, some competitors were recorded as exceeding the limit despite remaining on the speed limiter.

A second hearing was scheduled to take place later on Thursday, although a final verdict is not expected until Friday.

Should Gasly’s result be reinstated, it would mean Isack Hadjar, who claimed his maiden Formula 1 podium for Red Bull, would lose his place on the rostrum. However, the situation also raises wider questions about the Monaco results, with Russell, Oscar Piastri and Lewis Hamilton among those who were also penalised for pit-lane speeding.

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Written by

Jawad Yaqub

An eCommerce Specialist by day and reporting on F1 by night. Jawad is passionate about motorsport, having provided accredited F1 coverage for more than a decade. Live blogging (almost) every grand prix too since 2014, as well as articles on the Supercars Championship. Also keen on sustainability, photography, collecting vinyl, (trying to) expertly barbeque and learning to Dad.

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