Mercedes backs out of bid to get Monaco result reviewed again

Mercedes has dropped its petition for a right of review over the result of Formula 1's Monaco Grand Prix.

The team had been due to attend a hearing with the FIA stewards on Saturday to discuss its unhappiness about the reinstatement of Pierre Gasly to third place in the race.

With Mercedes driver George Russell's Monaco GP having been derailed by a speeding offence that set off a chain of events that resulted in him getting a drive-through because an initial five-second sanction was not served correctly, the team felt some big answers were needed over Gasly's penalties effectively being annulled given so many other drivers' penalties were served during the race.

Gasly's Alpine team successfully argued that its driver had never broken the limit during the race so did not deserve his post-race sanctions.

Speaking about the initial decision to go ahead with its complaint, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said: "We've asked for a right of review, because you just simply want to sit on the table when decisions are being made."

But even as the request went in, Wolff admitted that the chances of success were very slim.

"I still think it's a long shot," he said.

With less than 48 hours to go before Mercedes was due to present its case to the stewards, where it would have had to produce a "significant and relevant new element", it has withdrawn its petition.

A short statement from the FIA on Thursday night confirmed that the matter was over.

"The stewards have been informed by Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team that they are withdrawing the petition for review in respect of the decisions of the stewards of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, breach of Article B1.6.3a of the FIA F1 Regulations in relation to Car 63," it said.

While Mercedes has backed away from following through on any further action, McLaren and Red Bull are going ahead with taking the matter to the FIA's International Court of Appeal.

Mercedes released a statement on Friday morning which said "We can confirm that we have withdrawn our Right of Review submission relating to the penalties received and served by George Russell during the Monaco Grand Prix.

"Following the decision to rescind Pierre Gasly's time penalty, it was important for us to explore all available options to address the impact of George's pitlane speeding penalty on his race result.

"We had a limited time window in which to apply for the right of review during the race weekend in Barcelona, and did so in order to reserve our position in this regard.

"Our subsequent collaborative discussion with FIA and Formula One has shown their determination to review the unique circumstances arising from the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that caused them.

"In the face of this clear determination, we have concluded that further pursuit of our right of review application will not serve our team or the sport and thus we
have withdrawn our submission."