Why Monaco F1 appeal ruling could take weeks
A judgement from the FIA’s International Court of Appeal hearing into Pierre Gasly’s Monaco GP podium could take up to three weeks to be issued because of the complexity of the legal arguments at the heart of the case.
Appeals by McLaren and Red Bull over the reinstatement of Gasly to his third-place finish in Monaco were heard by the FIA’s ICA at a session in Paris on Tuesday, August 25.
With some detailed legal arguments emerging about both Gasly’s penalty and the wider implications of post-race sanctions being rescinded, it became obvious that there would be no quick verdict from the panel of four judges.
The Race understands that the parties at the hearing, which took place behind closed doors, were instead informed that it could take between two and three weeks for the judgement to be made.
That means another lengthy wait for Gasly and his Alpine squad to know if they have held on to their top three finish from Monaco, or if Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar is reinstated.
Double intent
Rivals McLaren and Red Bull were unhappy that post-race time penalties handed down for Gasly speeding in the pits were wiped away at an FIA Right of Review hearing after it emerged that FOM had not measured the pitlane speed distance correctly.
A post-event LIDAR scan had revealed that the shortest distance between the timing loops where all offences occurred during the race was 77cm shorter than what had been used to set-up the FOM timing zones that the speeding calculations are based on.
This meant it could not be proven that Gasly had actually gone over the 60km/h speed limit in the race.
But while Gasly’s penalty could be overturned in light of the new evidence, there was no way to do anything about drivers like McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Mercedes’ George Russell who served punishments during the race.
Although the key reason for the Paris hearing involved Gasly’s penalty situation, wider issues also emerged about the principles of sanctions in F1.
Speaking at the Dutch Grand Prix last weekend, McLaren boss Andrea Stella said that there was a “double intent” from his team in taking the matter to the ICA.
First was that McLaren had lost points through Piastri serving a speeding penalty during the race for the same offence that Gasly was eventually let off for.
But beyond the specifics of the speeding offences, Stella said: “The fact that the penalty was removed introduces some significant elements of concern.”
He believed that it was important for the FIA judges to clarify the bigger picture situation of penalties, when they must be served and an acceptance of how they are policed that is understood by everyone.
Stella added “I think what happened sets some significant concerns”.
