(Motorsport-Total.com) – Whether Pierre Gasly will be allowed to keep his third place from the Formula 1 race in Monaco could be decided today, Wednesday. Since yesterday, the FIA International Court of Appeal has been dealing with an appeal from McLaren and Red Bull against the result of the Grand Prix in the Principality in June.
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In this race, several drivers were given time penalties for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane, including McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine driver Pierre Gasly.
It later turned out that these violations in the pit lane were actually not violations, caused by an error in the timing loop at the start of the unique Monegasque pit entry.
All drivers – except Gasly (and his Alpine teammate Franco Colapinto) – had already served their time penalties during the race. The Frenchman, however, was given two five-second time penalties at the finish line, which dropped him from third to seventh place.
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After Alpine requested a Right of Review against Gasly’s penalties, the race stewards overturned both penalties and restored the Frenchman’s podium position. This pushed Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar back to fourth place and also moved McLaren’s Piastri further down the standings.
As a result, both McLaren and Red Bull initiated an appeal procedure because they were disturbed by the fact that Gasly’s penalty was overturned while other drivers, including Piastri, did not receive such an opportunity.
McLaren’s intentions in the procedure
Ahead of the hearing, which began on Tuesday but could possibly take longer, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella explains that the team is pursuing both its own interests in the constructors’ championship and the general interest of the sport.
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“We are going into the hearing before the International Court of Appeal with a dual purpose,” says Stella. “The first purpose is more general than McLaren’s pure interest. We believe that the process that took place after the Monaco race needs to be reviewed.”
“For reasons of fairness to all competitors, the fact that the penalty was removed raises some significant concerns. And we want to take the opportunity before the International Court of Appeal to get clarification on this point,” says the Italian.
“Of course, there is more behind this case. It can go into the technical aspects, such as how the speed of the limiter in the pit lane was calculated. But for me, on a higher level, it is more about fairness and the principle that needs to be clarified and possibly restored.”
Stella continues: “The second aspect concerns McLaren’s own interests. We were also materially disadvantaged by having served a penalty against which no appeal can be made. And that cost us points in the championship.”
“So there is a general interest for Formula 1 and the integrity of the sport,” he says. “And there is a material interest for McLaren regarding the impact on our championship. These are the two viewpoints, the two perspectives that we want to pursue and clarify at the upcoming hearing before the International Court of Appeal.”
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