Alpine have exercised their right of review to challenge the result of the Monaco Grand Prix, in a bid to win back a podium result. It comes after a dramatic race in Monte Carlo which ended with Pierre Gasly finishing third on the road, but demoted to seventh place in the classification as a result of a five-second time penalty.
That was the punishment he was given by the stewards for being adjudged to have sped in the pit lane. It was one of at least half-a-dozen such penalties given for that same infringement, sparking speculation that there may have been something not working correctly with the system.
In Monaco, the speed limit in the pit lane is 60kph. Like several other drivers, Gasly was clocked travelling at 0.1kph over that limit and the standard punishment for such an infringement is a five-second time penalty. Because of a late safety car, the Frenchman had no time to put a gap between himself and the cars behind to offset it.
That meant the Alpine driver crossed the line in the podium places, but immediately dropped down to seventh. Isack Hadjar inherited third place and took to the famous Monte Carlo podium, while Gasly was left sitting on a barrier at the side of the track looking livid.
Speaking afterwards, Gasly hinted that his team might fight the outcome as he shared his anger and despair. He said: “Right now, I’m honestly just heartbroken. I don’t have the words. I have too many emotions to process. I just can’t get my head around what happened. It just doesn’t sound fair.
“On both occasions, I pit the pit limiter on way before the line. We’re all working so hard for these moments. For 10 years I’ve tried to grab every opportunity. I have five podiums in my career and on the road we were in third position in front of all the French people, and it gets taken away from us. Right now, I just don’t know what to say.
“I hope they can look into it and just make the right decisions. I know I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m 200 percent sure I was before the line and that the team set the right speed for me. Hopefully they can investigate it, but that won’t give me that moment. I’ve just been watching the podium and I think I should have been up there.”
Alpine have now confirmed that they will exercise their right to challenge the result. A team statement read: “After the result of today’s Monaco Grand Prix, BWT Alpine Formula One Team can confirm it has requested a Right of Review from the FIA following the penalties applied for pit lane speeding.”