Alpine have triggered their right of review to contest the outcome of the Monaco Grand Prix, in an attempt to reclaim a podium finish. This follows a dramatic race in Monte Carlo which saw Pierre Gasly cross the line third, but relegated to seventh in the final classification following a five-second time penalty.
That sanction was handed down by the stewards for an alleged breach of the pit lane speed limit. It was one of at least half-a-dozen such penalties issued for the same offence, prompting suggestions that the monitoring system may have malfunctioned.
In Monaco, the pit lane speed restriction is 60kph. Like several other drivers, Gasly was recorded travelling at 0.1kph above that threshold and the standard sanction for such a violation is a five-second time penalty. Due to a late safety car deployment, the Frenchman had no opportunity to build a sufficient gap to the cars behind to absorb it.
Consequently, the Alpine driver finished in the podium positions, but instantly tumbled down to seventh. Isack Hadjar inherited third spot and stood on the iconic Monte Carlo podium, while Gasly was left perched on a barrier at the trackside looking furious.
Speaking in the aftermath, Gasly hinted that his team could contest the ruling as he shared his anger and despair. He said: “Right now, I’m honestly just heartbroken. I don’t have the words. I have too many emotions to process. I just can’t get my head around what happened. It just doesn’t sound fair.
“On both occasions, I pit the pit limiter on way before the line. We’re all working so hard for these moments. For 10 years I’ve tried to grab every opportunity. I have five podiums in my career and on the road we were in third position in front of all the French people, and it gets taken away from us. Right now, I just don’t know what to say.
“I hope they can look into it and just make the right decisions. I know I haven’t done anything wrong. I’m 200 percent sure I was before the line and that the team set the right speed for me. Hopefully they can investigate it, but that won’t give me that moment. I’ve just been watching the podium and I think I should have been up there.”
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Alpine have since confirmed they will take up their right to appeal the decision. A team statement read: “After the result of today’s Monaco Grand Prix, BWT Alpine Formula One Team can confirm it has requested a Right of Review from the FIA following the penalties applied for pit lane speeding.”