The fallout from the Monaco Grand Prix refuses to die down. Red Bull have joined McLaren in lodging a notification to appeal with the FIA’s International Court of Appeal over the decision to reinstate Pierre Gasly’s podium finish, sources have confirmed to ESPN. It’s a controversy that is shaking the foundations of sporting fairness in Formula 1 — and the two giants of the current grid aren’t staying quiet about it.
Pierre Gasly Monaco Podium Row: What Actually Happened
During a review hearing on Friday, Monaco Grand Prix stewards overturned two five-second post-race penalties that had been handed to Gasly. The dramatic reversal came after Formula One Management admitted they had made an error measuring car speeds at the pit lane entrance. Gasly had originally dropped from third to seventh as a result of those penalties, but their removal bumped Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar off the podium — robbing the youngster of what would have been his first top-three finish for the team — down to fourth.
Gasly wasn’t alone in receiving a penalty. Five drivers were sanctioned for pit lane speeding during the race, including McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, who copped a five-second penalty for exceeding the limit by just 0.1km/h. Piastri also lost a position when Gasly was reinstated, slipping from fourth to fifth. Furthermore, Lewis Hamilton and George Russell both served pit lane speeding penalties during the race — crucially, mid-race penalties that could not be retrospectively overturned.
McLaren and Red Bull Push Back Hard
McLaren moved first. On Tuesday, the Woking outfit confirmed they were pressing ahead with their appeal, arguing that teams had been aware of discrepancies in the pit lane measurements and had adjusted their procedures accordingly — meaning those who complied with the rules as applied at the time are now being penalised for doing exactly that. A Red Bull spokesperson subsequently confirmed to ESPN that they too are following up with an appeal intention, though no official public statement has been released.
McLaren’s statement pulled no punches: “Our decision to appeal is not directed at any competitor. Rather, it reflects our belief that the championship benefits from regulations that are applied consistently, transparently and fairly to all participants.”
Meanwhile, Mercedes have been consulting lawyers over their own position — with George Russell arguably the biggest loser in all of this. “We’ve asked for a right of review, because you just simply want to sit on the table when decisions are being made,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff told reporters, before conceding it remains “a long shot.”
Alpine, the only team to launch a right of review after the race, succeeded by presenting new evidence — including FOM’s admission that it had miscalculated the distance between two timing loops at the pit lane entry. That evidence won the day. Whether it survives the full appeals process is an entirely different question.