Monaco penalties being reviewed after shock error revealed

Alpine has won a review of Pierre Gasly’s podium-robbing penalties in the Monaco Grand Prix because Formula 1 used an inaccurate pitlane distance to measure the speeds of cars.

Gasly finished third on the road in Monaco but dropped to seventh after receiving two five-second penalties for speeding in the pitlane by just 0.1 and 0.4km/h.

However, Alpine has successfully presented new, significant and relevant evidence in a right of review hearing held on Thursday - leading to an immediate second hearing to actually review the penalties, which began at 1.20pm local time in Spain on Thursday.  

The crux of Alpine’s case is the stunning revelation that Formula One Management provided evidence that the distance used in calculating the official timing - and the pitlane speed - was “inaccurate and overestimated the speed” Gasly was travelling at.

This means that system was used correctly on the FIA side, hence the belief on Sunday in Monaco that everything had worked as it should, but it was compromised by being fed inaccurate FOM data.

At the time, the spate of tiny speeding offences were believed to be related to cutting the pitlane in places where the road curves, which shortened the distance travelled and therefore the speed registered based on how quickly the cars covered a certain distance.

But one argument was that the angled pitlane entry and exit lines, and shape of the pitlane, could also impact how long the pitlane is judged to be depending on where it was measured from.

It is the distance calculated by F1 that the stewards view as the only significant, new and relevant piece of evidence from Alpine’s submission.

Alpine also argued that the FIA and FOM were aware in advance of the race that there was an issue with the timing loops in the pitlane, which FIA and FOM representatives “strongly refuted”.

The team also had data that demonstrated Gasly activated the pitlane speed limiter in advance of entry into the pits and did not exceed the pitlane speed limit, plus a witness statement from Pierre Gasly that he took a cautious approach having been warned by his engineers.

It now raises the possibility of the result being changed - though this would likely invite more controversy given other drivers were penalised in Monaco but had them imposed during the grand prix, rather than as a time penalty added at the end.

The alternative is that the stewards double down on the penalty and instead use this as a critical lesson to ensure the scenario is never repeated.