Pierre Gasly has lost his third-place finish from this year’s Monaco Grand Prix after the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated two five-second penalties against the Alpine driver, in a decision that changes the official race result nearly three months after the event took place.
The saga began at the Monaco Grand Prix itself, when FIA timing systems recorded Gasly’s car exceeding the pit lane’s 60 km/h speed limit on two separate occasions, at 60.1 km/h and 60.4 km/h, resulting in two five-second penalties applied to his race time. Alpine subsequently petitioned for a Right of Review, arguing that Formula One Management’s official measurement of the pit lane distance used to calculate those speeds contained an error, new evidence the original stewards hadn’t had access to. The stewards accepted Alpine’s case, rescinded both penalties, and restored Gasly to third place behind race winner Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
That reprieve proved short-lived. McLaren and Red Bull challenged the stewards’ Right of Review decision, taking their case to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal, which held a hearing in Paris on August 25. In its ruling, published Friday, September 4, the ICA sided with McLaren and Red Bull, overturning the stewards’ decision and reinstating Gasly’s original penalties. As a result, Gasly drops from third to seventh in the final Monaco classification, with Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar restored to third place, securing his first podium finish since joining the team. Oscar Piastri moves up to fourth, with the Racing Bulls pair of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad completing the top six in fifth and sixth.
The decision also affects the championship standings, with Gasly losing nine points and Hadjar gaining a share of the points originally awarded to him.
Alpine reacted with visible frustration, saying in a statement that the team disagreed with the outcome and continued to maintain that car No. 10 had not exceeded the pit lane speed limit at any point during the race, while acknowledging the judging panel’s decision. The team added that despite the setback, it remained fully focused on continuing to improve its on-track performance amid a closely fought championship battle.
The FIA, for its part, said it was reviewing the methodology and operation of the current Formula 1 timing system, along with related regulatory matters, and confirmed it would also review its broader judicial procedures, including the Right of Review and appeals processes. The governing body reiterated its full support for the independence and objectivity of its stewarding panels, while acknowledging that the Court of Appeal operates with access to more extensive legal argument and evidence than stewards typically have available to them during a race weekend.
Gasly responded to the setback in the best possible way just a day later, claiming his first-ever pole position in Formula 1 during qualifying for the Italian Grand Prix at Monza on Saturday, September 5. The Frenchman, who took his sole career win at the same circuit back in 2020, produced a stunning final lap in Q3 to edge out Mercedes’ George Russell by just 0.06 seconds, with McLaren’s Oscar Piastri completing the top three. Speaking afterward, Gasly described the achievement as something special, reflecting on nine years spent chasing his first pole position, and admitted he could hardly believe it had come at the same track where he won his only race in the sport.