Gasly reclaims Monaco podium, Hadjar loses his first Red Bull podium after FIA overturns pitlane penalties

Pierre Gasly has been reinstated to third place in the Monaco Grand Prix after the FIA stewards upheld Alpine’s Right of Review, rescinding the two pitlane‑speeding penalties that had initially dropped him out of podium contention.

The decision follows the emergence of new evidence confirming that the pitlane timing loop at Monte Carlo had been incorrectly measured, leading to artificially inflated speed readings.

Gasly had crossed the line in third but was handed two separate five‑second penalties for allegedly exceeding the 60 km/h pitlane limit—one of six drivers to be sanctioned for the same offence.

Alpine immediately lodged a Right of Review, arguing that its data showed Gasly never exceeded the limit and had in fact taken extra margin to remain safely below it.

During Thursday’s hearing in Barcelona, Formula One Management, which oversees timing operations, acknowledged that the pit entry loop used to calculate average speeds was 77 centimetres shorter than recorded.

This discrepancy meant the system overreported the speeds of all six drivers flagged for violations. The stewards accepted this as a “significant and relevant new element,” satisfying the criteria for reopening the case.

In their ruling, the stewards stated that Gasly had not breached the speed limit and confirmed that both penalties would be annulled.

The correction restores Alpine’s first podium of the season and marks a significant vindication for the team, which had argued immediately after the race that the penalties were unfounded.

However, the ruling applies only to Gasly. While several other drivers were penalised under the same faulty measurement, those competitors either served their penalties during the race or did not request a Right of Review.

The FIA emphasised that it has no regulatory mechanism to reverse a penalty that has already been served, even if later evidence casts doubt on its validity. As the stewards noted, this left “regrettable” consequences for the race strategies and final results of those drivers.

The reinstatement has direct implications for the final classification. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who had inherited third place after Gasly’s original penalties, is now demoted to fourth.

The French rookie had already been cleared in a separate investigation earlier in the week, but the timing‑loop correction ultimately cost him what would have been his first Formula 1 podium.

The incident has reignited scrutiny over the reliability of FIA timing systems, particularly in a season already marked by operational debates.

The unusually high number of pitlane speeding penalties in Monaco—several by margins as small as 0.1 km/h—had raised suspicions in the paddock even before Alpine’s challenge.

With the measurement error now confirmed, questions are likely to persist about how such discrepancies can be prevented and whether the regulations should allow for broader remedies when systemic errors affect multiple competitors.