Alpine seeks FIA review over Gasly Monaco podium

Alpine has officially lodged a Right of Review with the FIA after Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium was turned into seventh place by two five-second pitlane speeding penalties.

Gasly crossed the line third after starting ninth, but the Alpine driver was penalized twice for exceeding Monaco’s 60km/h pitlane limit by margins of just 0.1km/h and 0.4km/h. The combined 10 seconds dropped him out of the top three in one of the race’s biggest post-race swings.

The case matters beyond Alpine because Monaco produced a cluster of near-identical infringements. Oscar Piastri, George Russell, Franco Colapinto and Gasly were each punished for an excess of only 0.1km/h, while Lewis Hamilton was also penalized, raising immediate questions about whether the issue was with the drivers or with the way pit entry was being measured.

The FIA said it checked its timing lines and measurement equipment after the race and found no abnormalities. Its explanation was that the tiny overshoots were likely caused by the line drivers took on pit entry at Monaco, where the entry can be cut slightly. According to the FIA, speed measurement begins the moment the first wheel enters the fast lane, and average pitlane speed is calculated using electronic timing loops in the track surface and each car’s official FIA transponder, which can turn a very small shortcut into a marginal speed excess.

Gasly made clear he does not accept the penalties as fair. Pierre Gasly, Alpine driver, said after the race: “I don't think there is anything that could hurt me more right now.” He added that Alpine had the evidence to challenge the ruling, saying: “I know for a fact that what's in the car is below the 60km/h and I know on both occasions I've put it way before the line... They can see on the data.”

Alpine confirmed only that it had requested the review following the penalties applied for pitlane speeding. For that challenge to go anywhere, the FIA stewards must first decide that the request is admissible. Alpine then has to show a significant new element that was not available when the original decisions were made.

Unless that threshold is met and the case is reopened, Gasly’s seventh place will stand and Monaco will remain a costly example of how a few tenths in pit entry positioning can decide a podium.