Gasly Stripped of Monaco Podium Again After FIA Ruling
Pierre Gasly has been stripped of his Monaco Grand Prix podium – again.
The Alpine driver, who originally crossed the line in third, drops to seventh after the FIA’s International Court of Appeal reinstated two five‑second penalties for speeding in the pit lane. The ruling comes at the end of a messy, weeks‑long legal tug of war that has reshaped the final order in Monte Carlo.
Gasly’s race had seemed settled on the track. He finished P3, only to be hit with the twin time penalties after the chequered flag for separate pit-lane speeding infringements. Those sanctions initially pushed him down the order.
Alpine then fought back.
Using a Right of Review, the team persuaded the Monaco stewards to overturn the penalties, arguing that new evidence warranted a fresh look. The stewards agreed, rescinded the sanctions, and handed Gasly his podium back – a rare and high-profile reversal.
That didn’t sit well elsewhere in the paddock. McLaren and Red Bull challenged the Right of Review outcome, escalating the dispute to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal. The hearing took place in Paris on 25 August, with both teams contesting the way the Monaco decision had been reached.
The Court sided with the appellants. Gasly’s original penalties stand. His time is adjusted once more, and with it, the Monaco classification is rewritten for a second time.
The reshuffle is significant.
Isack Hadjar is now promoted to third place, inheriting the final podium spot. McLaren’s Oscar Piastri moves up to fourth, while the Racing Bulls duo of Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad climb to fifth and sixth respectively. Gasly, once the story of the day in Monte Carlo, finds himself shuffled back to seventh.
In the wake of the verdict, the FIA issued a pointed statement acknowledging the wider implications. The governing body confirmed it is “reviewing the methodology and operation of the current Formula 1 timing system and the related regulatory matters,” and will also look again at “other judicial procedures and operations including the right of review and the appeal processes.”
The message is clear: this case has rattled more than just a podium ceremony.
The FIA underlined its backing for race stewards, stressing its support for “the stewarding process and the independence and objectivity of the diverse panels of stewards who are an integral part of global motorsport.” It drew a line between the environment in which stewards work and the legal-heavy setting of the Court, noting that the ICA can call on “extensive and additional legal counsel input, arguments and evidence.”
According to the statement, FIA stewards “constantly review their processes and take part in extensive professional development,” with every ICA decision “carefully examined by FIA stewards ensuring a process of continuous improvement.”
On paper, it’s a clarification. In reality, it’s an admission that the sport’s timing and judicial systems are under fresh scrutiny.
For Gasly, the damage is immediate and brutal: a hard-earned Monaco podium gone, twice. For Hadjar, Piastri, Lawson and Lindblad, the ruling redraws their weekends in ink rather than pencil.
And for Formula 1’s rule-makers, the question now is simple: how many more races can afford to be decided in courtrooms rather than on the circuit?
