(Motorsport-Total.com) – Almost three months after the Monaco Grand Prix, the result of the most prestigious race in Formula 1 is still not final. Pierre Gasly’s time penalty was overturned in the week following the race, which returned him to third place – at the expense of Isack Hadjar.
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However, the matter was far from over. McLaren and Red Bull have now appealed the decision before the FIA International Court of Appeal (ICA). The hearing took place on Wednesday.
However, all parties have indicated that a verdict should not be expected immediately. A decision could still take two to three weeks, which corresponds to the usual procedure in an ICA process. What was unusual, however, was that the hearing lasted the entire day.
The ICA heard the arguments from all sides, but it will take time to reach a carefully considered judgment. This is partly due to the complexity of the legal arguments, but also because of the far-reaching consequences for the sport, to which McLaren in particular has explicitly referred in this case.
Both Hadjar and Oscar Piastri lost positions and thus championship points as a result of the overturning of Gasly’s time penalty. However, both teams believe that more is at stake. Both have portrayed the events in Monaco as creating a dangerous precedent.
Why McLaren went to the ICA
Team principal Andrea Stella spoke in Zandvoort of a “double intention” behind his team’s appeal, saying the matter was about more than just the lost points in both championships.
“We believe that the process that took place after the race in Monaco needs to be reviewed in terms of fairness to all participants. The fact that the penalty was overturned raises some significant concerns,” said the McLaren team principal.
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“Of course, there are other aspects related to this case. It also concerns the technical details of how speed was measured at the pit entry and in the pit lane.”
“For me, on a higher level, it is more about fairness and the principle that needs to be clarified and possibly restored. I think what happened raises significant concerns,” said Stella.
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With these last words, he referred to the precedent that drivers and teams could in future be encouraged not to serve time penalties on track but instead to challenge them after the checkered flag has fallen.
Why a fair judgment is practically impossible
Because they did not do this, Piastri and George Russell were among the drivers in Monaco who ultimately paid the price. The Mercedes driver did try to serve his time penalty but also received a drive-through penalty.
As a result, he ultimately ended up without points in the principality and had no further opportunity to take action – although Mercedes had examined the available options.
According to McLaren and Red Bull, this creates a precedent. However, the ICA judges are basically faced with a choice between two bad options. It is clear that an ideal solution for the Monaco race is no longer really possible.
After the Grand Prix, it was found that the measurement in the pit lane was faulty. There was a deviation of 77 centimeters between two timing loops. As a result, the speed measurements were incorrect and it could not be proven that drivers like Gasly had actually exceeded the speed limit.
Since it is now known that the measurement was faulty, it is difficult in retrospect to reinstate Gasly’s time penalty. At the same time, other drivers who may have been wrongly penalized cannot recover the time lost as a result.
Thus, it is practically impossible, regardless of how the ICA will decide, to reach a result that is fair to all parties involved.
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