Gasly's Monaco podium reinstated as Alpine wins FIA review battle

Pierre Gasly's Monaco Grand Prix heartbreak has been transformed into celebration after Alpine successfully overturned the penalties that had stripped the Frenchman of a hard-earned podium finish.

Less than a week after leaving the streets of Monte Carlo believing a career-defining result had slipped through his fingers, Gasly has been officially restored to third place following a successful Right of Review launched by Alpine.

The decision marks a dramatic reversal of fortune for both driver and team, bringing an end to a saga that overshadowed what had been one of Alpine's strongest performances of the season.

From podium hero to penalty victim

Gasly's race in Monaco had been one of persistence and opportunity seized.

Starting ninth on the grid, the Alpine driver steadily worked his way forward through a chaotic afternoon shaped by two Safety Car interventions and a red flag.

By the closing stages, he had climbed to fourth place before inheriting another position when Mercedes driver George Russell served a late drive-through penalty.

Crossing the line in podium position should have been a moment of triumph. Instead, it quickly turned into disappointment.

The stewards had handed Gasly two separate five-second penalties for pit-lane speeding infringements during the race. The combined ten-second punishment dropped him from third to seventh in the final classification, denying him what would have been his first podium finish of the campaign.

The result left Gasly devastated and prompted Alpine to challenge the ruling through the FIA's Right of Review process. That gamble has now paid off.

Alpine's evidence changes the outcome

The first stage of the review process took place on Thursday at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where Alpine sought to convince the FIA that fresh evidence justified reopening the case.

The Enstone-based team succeeded in doing exactly that.

Having presented evidence deemed new, significant and relevant, Alpine cleared the threshold required for the case to be reconsidered. A second hearing followed shortly afterwards to examine the penalties themselves.

On Friday morning, the FIA confirmed its verdict: both five-second penalties imposed on Gasly would be rescinded.

The decision restores Gasly to third place in the Monaco Grand Prix classification and hands Alpine one of its most significant results of the season.

In a statement, Alpine said:

“We welcome the decision made by the FIA to deem our Right of Review as admissible following the final classification of last weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.

“As a result, the Stewards have rescinded the two five-second penalties imposed on Car #10, which reinstates the team’s third place finish.

“We would like to thank the FIA and Formula One Management for its transparency and co-operation throughout the Right of Review process and for reaching this decision.

“The team’s focus is now very much on this weekend’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix and striving for the best possible result with both of its cars.”

Ripple effects through the classification

The FIA's ruling does more than rewrite Gasly's race result. It also reshuffles the finishing order behind him.

Red Bull's Isack Hadjar, who had inherited the final podium position following Gasly's demotion, loses his place in the top three and falls back to fourth. McLaren's Oscar Piastri and Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad each drop one position as a consequence of the revised classification.

• Read also: FIA accepts Alpine's Monaco right of review as FOM admits error

For Gasly, however, the significance runs far beyond statistics.

After spending several days believing that a standout drive had been erased by penalties, the Frenchman finally has the result his performance deserved.

Monaco's podium ceremony may be over, but thanks to Alpine's persistence and a successful FIA review, the trophy position that slipped away has officially been returned.

A week after heartbreak, justice has arrived for Gasly in Monte Carlo.

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