McLaren have formally appealed the FIA’s decision to overturn Pierre Gasly’s pit-lane speeding penalty from the Monaco Grand Prix, escalating a controversy that has already triggered further review requests from rival teams.
The FIA recently reinstated the Alpine driver to third place after determining that the pit-lane speed limit had been incorrectly calculated during the race. Gasly had originally been penalised for speeding and dropped from third to seventh in the final classification.
Following a successful right-of-review request from Alpine, FIA officials concluded that the Monaco pit lane had been measured incorrectly. According to the findings, the route used to calculate the speed limit was 77 metres longer than the shortest legal path available to drivers. As a result, timing data suggested several drivers had exceeded the 60km/h speed limit when they had in fact remained within it.
McLaren, however, believes the reversal creates an unfair sporting outcome. The team argued that all competitors operated according to the regulations and procedures in place during the Monaco weekend and accepted penalties based on those standards.
In a statement, McLaren said the case raises concerns about sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and confidence in the application of FIA rules. The team maintains that removing penalties after they have already influenced race outcomes disadvantages competitors who complied with the original decisions.
The ruling had a direct impact on McLaren driver Oscar Piastri. The Australian was one of several drivers penalised for pit-lane speeding and dropped from fourth to fifth place after Gasly’s reinstatement. Speaking at the Spanish Grand Prix, Piastri criticised the situation and questioned how one penalty could be overturned when several others had already affected the race result.
Mercedes have also sought a review of the Monaco outcome after George Russell suffered heavily from the same issue. Russell was running third when he received a five-second penalty for exceeding the speed limit by just 0.1km/h. During a red-flag stoppage, he urged officials to examine the matter after the race rather than force him to serve the penalty immediately.
The request was rejected, and a communication error within Mercedes later resulted in Russell failing to serve the original penalty correctly. He was subsequently handed a drive-through penalty, dropping him from a podium position to 12th place at the finish. The result cost him 15 championship points in the title battle with team-mate Kimi Antonelli and Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton.
Hamilton and Alpine’s Franco Colapinto were among the other drivers penalised during the race. All but one of the penalties were issued for exceeding the speed limit by only 0.1km/h, while one of Gasly’s infractions was recorded at 0.4km/h over the limit. Ferrari managed to minimise the damage to Hamilton’s race by serving his penalty during a safety-car period, while Colapinto finished outside the points regardless.
The FIA report also revealed that stewards began questioning whether something unusual was occurring after the third speeding penalty was handed out. Despite concerns having been raised by teams during the weekend, officials reportedly informed the stewards that there were no issues. The concerns were apparently not passed on to either the stewards or the timing department before the race ended.
Gasly’s restored podium finish also affected other drivers. Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar lost his place in the top three, while Piastri was pushed down another position in the final classification. Red Bull have yet to hand over the third-place trophy to Gasly and are reportedly considering whether to launch their own appeal against the FIA’s decision.
With McLaren now taking the matter to the FIA Court of Appeal, Formula 1’s governing body faces a significant legal and sporting challenge over one of the most contentious stewarding decisions of the season.