Motor racing-FIA appeal court to have final say on Gasly's Monaco GP podium

FIA appeal court to decide final Monaco podium

Formula One's international court of appeal will convene in Paris on Tuesday to decide, once and for all, who finished third in the Monaco Grand Prix — more than two months after the race itself. The hearing comes after a contentious sequence of events that saw Alpine's Pierre Gasly initially stripped of his podium finish, then reinstated, and finally subject to appeals from two rival teams.

The original result and its reversal

Gasly finished third in the Mediterranean principality on June 7, but was demoted to seventh when stewards applied two five-second penalties for pit-lane speeding after the race. As a result, Red Bull's Isack Hadjar was promoted to third and famously sprayed the champagne.

That decision, however, was overturned on June 12. After reviewing Alpine's argument that a timekeeping error had occurred, the stewards accepted the evidence and removed the penalties, restoring Gasly to third place. Hadjar subsequently handed the trophy back to Gasly.

The catalyst for the appeals

The reversal did not sit well with two other teams. Some paddock insiders warned that the verdict opened a can of worms, and on June 16, McLaren and Red Bull both appealed to the international court.

McLaren's objection centered on Oscar Piastri, who had been promoted to fourth by Gasly's demotion but then slipped back to fifth when the result was reversed. During the race, Piastri had served penalties for the same pit-lane speeding offence, under the assumption it was unavoidable, even though he believed he had not been speeding. Unlike Gasly, who had not served his penalties in the race and thus could have the added time removed, Piastri had no recourse—the time lost in the pits also had a knock-on effect on how he raced afterwards.

McLaren's case

Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix, which was won by McLaren's Lando Norris, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella set out the double purpose of his team's appeal.

"We think that the process that happened after the race in Monaco needs to be reviewed because from a (standpoint of) fairness for all competitors, the fact that the penalty was removed introduces some significant elements of concern," he said.

"The second aspect is the interest of McLaren. We got also materially penalised for having served a penalty that is not appealable and this even cost us points in the championship," added the Italian.

"So there's a general interest for Formula One and the sport and the integrity of the sport, and there's a material interest for McLaren in terms of our championship impact."

The hearing

The FIA has said that the hearing will take place at its headquarters in Paris, without the presence of the public or the media for reasons of confidentiality. A decision is expected to be published as soon as possible.

Tuesday's ruling will bring an end to a saga that began on the night of the Monaco Grand Prix, and will determine the official record for the race's podium, and whether Gasly keeps the trophy or Hadjar regains it.