There was nothing to shake the outstanding victory of World Championship leader Kimi Antonelli at the Monaco Grand Prix, nor the second place of Formula 1 record world champion Lewis Hamilton. Behind him, Isack Hadjar initially had to worry about his second podium in the premier class. Further back, a subsequent penalty gave old master Fernando Alonso the points. One team appealed the decisions.
Red Bull youngster and Verstappen teammate Isack Hadjar had to worry about his second Formula 1 podium of his career for a long time, but in the end the Frenchman retained his strong third place. Hadjar was cleared by officials hours after the winner’s ceremony.
The 21-year-old’s red phase was examined when all cars were in the pit lane. The initial suspicion was that Red Bull may have exchanged parts there without permission.
“It was reported that the team attempted to replace spark plugs and ignition coils, but did not carry out the replacement and the vehicle started in the same condition in which it arrived at the pits. Therefore, no further action will be taken,” the statement said.
Perez first slips into the points, then out again
However, Cadillac veteran Sergio Perez did not escape. The Mexican was relegated to tenth place due to the ten-second penalty against Nico Hülkenberg, who therefore finished 14th. But: Perez was also given ten seconds retroactively and was now ranked 15th behind Hülkenberg.
The reason: The 36-year-old did not take his starting position correctly at the restart after the race was interrupted. “The video recordings clearly showed that the right front wheel of car 11 was outside the start box. The usual penalty will be imposed,” said the regulators.
For Perez, tenth place would have meant scoring a point for the first time in the season – and therefore also for the first time for Cadillac. Former world champion Fernando Alonso is now taking this with him in his Aston Martin.
Trouble at Alpine: Objection lodged
Meanwhile, there was a lot of fuss and a lot of anger, especially at Alpine. Pierre Gasly received two five-second penalties, which meant he lost third place and was only ranked seventh.
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Like many of his colleagues, the Frenchman had driven through the pit lane too quickly; Lewis Hamilton and George Russell, among others, were also given such a penalty during the race.
Alpine does not want to let the demotion sit and announced that it will appeal the decision: “Following the result of today’s Monaco Grand Prix, the BWT Alpine Formula One Team can confirm that it has applied to the FIA for the right to review after penalties were imposed for speeding in the pit lane.”
Gasly told the portal “The Race” frustrated: “I worked my damn butt off for ten years for a moment like this, we did everything right. I don’t think anything could hurt me more right now.” Gasly asserted that the punishments were not fair.
Problems with the software?
There is a speed limit of 60 km/h in the pit lane in Monte Carlo. Alpine and Gasly assume that they can prove that he did not exceed this limit.
Mercedes driver Russell, who ultimately only came twelfth, can also imagine that the measurements were incorrect. “That shows that maybe there was a problem with the software or something,” said Russell, explaining: “I pressed the button and then I drove 60.1 kilometers per hour. 60 is okay, 60.1 is no longer allowed. That happened to me and that’s where I’m at now.”