FIA accepts Alpine's Monaco right of review as FOM admits error

In a positive twist for Alpine, the FIA stewards have officially upheld Alpine’s Right of Review regarding the dual five-second pitlane speeding penalties that cruelly robbed Pierre Gasly of a Monaco podium.

Gasly had crossed the finish line in a hard-earned third place, only to be demoted to a heartbreaking seventh after the stewards slapped him with a combined 10-second penalty.

The Frenchman branded the demotion the hardest sporting moment of his career, while Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar instead got to spray the champagne on racing's most iconic rostrum.

Now, however, new evidence has cast serious doubt over whether those penalties should have been issued at all.

Timing system under the microscope

At the heart of the dispute is the distance-measuring system used to calculate pitlane speed.

During Thursday's hearing, Alpine presented evidence that was unavailable to race stewards during the Grand Prix weekend. Crucially, that information came from Formula One Management (FOM), which is responsible for all timing systems.

According to evidence submitted by FOM on Wednesday, the distance-measuring system used in Monaco was found to be inaccurate and had overestimated the speed of Gasly's Alpine.

That revelation was enough for the FIA stewards to determine that Alpine's request met the criteria for a Right of Review, allowing the case to proceed to a full examination of whether the penalties should be overturned.

The development represents a significant twist in a saga that has been simmering since Sunday.

Questions beyond Alpine

Gasly was far from the only driver caught out by Monaco's pitlane speed monitoring. An unusually high number of six drivers were penalised during the race, immediately raising eyebrows throughout the paddock.

Several competitors reportedly took extra precautions to remain below the 60 km/h speed limit, including approaching pit entry more cautiously and adopting wider lines than normal.

Despite those efforts, penalties continued to appear.

Alpine argued during proceedings that concerns about the timing loops were known before the race, although representatives from both the FIA and FOM challenged that claim.

What is clear is that alarm bells began ringing during the race itself. After the third speeding infringement was reported, stewards sought confirmation from race control as to whether any timing issue had been identified. They were informed that no such concerns had been raised.

The newly surfaced evidence has now changed the landscape entirely. And the implications stretch well beyond Gasly.

• Read also: Alpine launches Right of Review after Gasly loses Monaco podium

Mercedes driver George Russell also saw his race unravel after receiving a speeding penalty before later being hit with a drive-through sanction for incorrectly serving it. The sequence dropped the championship contender out of the points and proved hugely costly in the title fight.

Should the FIA ultimately conclude that Monaco's measurement system produced inaccurate readings, the fallout could extend across multiple teams and reshape one of the most dramatic races of the season.

For Gasly, meanwhile, a podium that seemed permanently lost may suddenly be within reach again.

What looked like a closed case on Sunday night has become Formula 1's latest paddock controversy — and one whose final chapter has yet to be written.

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