McLaren and Red Bull are understood to have notified their intention to appeal against the FIA race stewards reinstating Pierre Gasly‘s Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix podium.
On Friday, FIA stewards reinstated Gasly’s podium after the Alpine driver was handed two five-second time penalties at the end of last Sunday’s race for two separate speeding violations. Based on evidence provided by FOM, which is in charge of F1 timekeeping, a discrepancy in how pitlane speeds were measured at the entry of Monaco’s unique pitlane meant Gasly and four other drivers were found to have been incorrectly penalised.
However, some teams feel it was their own responsibility to take enough margin through the pitlane based on their data from free practice, with Haas team boss Ayao Komatsu pointing out that the large majority of F1’s 22-car grid managed to get through the race without alleged speeding violations.
In the FIA hearing, McLaren and Red Bull also offered a different view. Red Bull sporting director Stephen Knowles argued the pitlane timing process was consistent all weekend and that teams adjusted their own systems accordingly, in the knowledge that the speed calculation isn’t perfect. Knowles represents Isack Hadjar, the driver who has now lost third place to Gasly.
Oscar Piastri, McLaren
Photo by: Steven Tee / LAT Images via Getty Images
McLaren’s Will Courtenay argued against amending the results for similar reasons, even if his driver Oscar Piastri was one of the drivers falling foul of the speed limit, as the Australian was also moved down one place in the results as Gasly was reinstated.
Per article 15.4 of the FIA’s International Sporting Code, competitors had one hour after the stewards’ decision to notify their intention to appeal.
That does not mean McLaren and Red Bull are actually appealing against the verdict just yet. But it gives them an additional 96-hour time window to further study the decision and the rulebook to see if there is an element to appeal against before following through on it.
