The right of review presented by the French team was found admissible. FOM, which manages the timing system, admitted that the distance used to calculate the speed was incorrect. Now the FIA must judge the possible rewriting of the finishing order
It’s never over: Pierre Gasly can still aim for the podium at the Monaco GP. A handful of days from the checkered flag, however. It is the effect of the insistence (and ringworm) of Alpine, who continued to knock on the FIA’s door. And beat and repeat, a way was found to open it. Because the right of review presented by the French team was in fact found admissible. Translated: the commissioners recognized the existence of “a new, significant and relevant element”, not available at the time of the decision taken on Sunday in the Principality. The case is that of the two five-second penalties imposed on Gasly for speeding in the pit lane. Two very heavy sanctions, because the Frenchman had crossed the finish line in third place, before slipping to seventh place in the final standings. However, the podium, the real one, the one in Monaco, was taken by Isack Hadjar. Now, however, everything can change. And of course Gasly waits.
timing
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The point is strong. Indeed, sensational: Formula One Management, responsible for the timing system, admitted that the distance used to calculate the speed of the Alpine number 10 was incorrect. And therefore Gasly’s speed would have been overestimated. Not by much, ok, at least in the contested numbers: we were talking about minimal infringements, 0.1 and 0.4 km/h over the limit. But enough to change a race and a Sunday (at least Gasly’s). Immediately after the race, the Frenchman appeared very upset. It hadn’t been easy: “I left Monaco with a mixture of mixed emotions after what happened in the race. It’s a difficult situation to digest, I will always wonder what could have happened.” Alpine claimed that the pilot had approached the pit entrance with extreme caution, after having been warned by radio by the engineers. Internal telemetry showed the limiter engaged before the white line. But at that moment the official data had more weight. Now that official data has become the problem.
the others penalized
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The story also opens up another question, even bigger than Gasly’s podium. In fact, in Monaco it wasn’t just him who was penalised: six drivers ended up under investigation or fine for speeding in the pit lane, an already unusual number. So much so that the commissioners themselves, after the third infringement, asked the race direction if there were problems with the system. The response was reassuring. Then, a few days later (the data arrived on Wednesday 11 June), the Fom correction arrived. Alpine also claimed that FIA and Fom were aware of the problem before the race, but the accusation was rejected by the interested parties. Now the FIA will have to get into the matter and decide whether to cancel the sanctions. In that case the Frenchman would return to third, recovering the Monaco podium and world championship points, while Hadjar would lose the party, the trophy and three points. It happens. In Barcelona, meanwhile, the Circus has already moved forward. Monaco, however, remains suspended.
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