After Alpine’s appeal was admissible, the Federation recognized that the French driver should not be penalised. Compared to Pierre, who had seconds added to his final race time, other drivers who made the same mistake, including Lewis and Russell, had no chance because they served the penalty during the race at the pit stop
Almost a week after the checkered flag of the Monaco GP, the finishing order changes: Pierre Gasly, who had crossed the finish line in third position, sees his podium returned after the FIA officially revoked the two 5-second penalties imposed on the French driver for speeding in the pit lane. By accepting the appeal presented by Alpine, the FIA recognized an error in the measurements of the distance between the timing sensors in the pit lane which thus led to a sensational correction of the final classification. The “Right of Review” presented by the Alpine team was accepted, giving Pierre Gasly the third step of the podium ahead of Isack Hadjar, but raising a fuss about the regularity of the results for the rest of the grid.
the error
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The whole case revolves around the first speed detection “zone” at the entrance to the pit lane in Monaco. For 2026, due to a change in the positioning of the barriers, drivers were able to follow a much narrower line than in the past. However, the official timing system was set to a distance of 2692 cm, while subsequent measurements showed that the actual minimum distance was only 2615 cm. This discrepancy of 77 centimeters distorted all calculations: speeds reported as above 60 km/h were, in reality, well within the limits (about 58.7 km/h).
the mocked
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If for Pierre Gasly justice arrived in the form of 10 seconds subtracted from his final time, for four other drivers the FIA verdict has the flavor of a mockery. In fact, the official document lists a series of infringements detected in the same point and with the same methods: Lewis Hamilton (Ferrari): reported at 60.1 km/h at 3.39 pm. George Russell (Mercedes): Reported 60.1 km/h at 3.43pm. Franco Colapinto (Alpine): reported at 60.1 km/h at 3.49pm. Oscar Piastri (McLaren): reported at 60.1 km/h at 16:06. Although it is now clear that these speeds were legal, their penalties remain valid. The reason? These drivers served the penalty during their pit stops in the race, irreversibly altering their strategies and positions on the track. The Stewards regretfully admitted that “there is no regulation that gives Stewards the power to ‘undo’ a penalty already served”. Furthermore, it is underlined that no other team, other than Alpine, has submitted a request for review within the expected deadlines, making their results definitive.
colapinto helps gasly
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The case of Franco Colapinto is curious. The young driver, despite racing for the same team as Gasly, did not benefit from the review for the same reason as the Mercedes and McLaren drivers: his penalty was served “physically” in the race. However, it was the penalty imposed on Colapinto at 3.49pm that saved Gasly. Seeing their driver punished for a millimetric infringement (60.1 km/h), the Alpine pit wall began to bombard Gasly with radio messages: “Be careful pit entrance, please. Be careful with speed”. Gasly followed the instructions, but was still ticketed for speeding (60.1 and 60.4 km/h) due to the system error. Since his penalties were only applied at the end of the race, the Stewards could simply delete them from the total time.
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