Confusion over the Monaco Grand Prix podium result has deepened further after the FIA confirmed Mercedes’s request to review the decision to reinstate Pierre Gasly to third place in Monte Carlo.
The Monaco stewards will convene remotely at 9am Saturday Monte Carlo time to hear if Mercedes has any “significant and relevant new element” that was unavailable at the time the decision to overturn Gasly’s two pit lane speeding penalties were made.
If the stewards agree that Mercedes’s evidence is compelling, a second hearing will be held later that morning that could see Gasly stripped of the podium for a second time.
Fox Sports, available on Kayo Sports, is the only place to watch every practice, qualifying session and race in the 2026 FIA Formula One World Championship™ LIVE in 4K. New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.
Alpine successfully petitioned the stewards to expunge Gasly’s pit lane speeding penalties after revealing that the pit lane had been measured incorrectly.
Pit lane speed is measured by a series of timing loops that calculate average speed, but Alpine found that the distance between the first two loops was 77 centimetres shorter than the system was expecting.
The disparity resulted in Gasly being clocked slightly above the 60-kilometre-per-hour pit lane speed limit. The four other drivers pinged presumably also fell foul of the limit for the same reason.
Only Gasly’s penalties were deleted because only Alpine appealed the result. However, Gasly was one of only two drivers who had the penalty added to their race time at the end of the grand prix, whereas the rest served them during the race.
The stewards noted in their ruling that they were powerless to undo penalties served during racing.
Though Mercedes wasn’t directly affected by the Gasly decision, George Russell was one of the five drivers pinged for speeding in the pit lane during the race.
His and the team’s failure to serve the five-second penalty correctly led to an automatic drive-through penalty, which dropped him from third place late in the race to outside the points for his second consecutive non-scoring grand prix result.
PIT TALK PODCAST: Lewis Hamilton scores his first win for Ferrari in a strategic showdown in Spain — but is the surging seven-time champion in the title fight? And why don’t we know the result of the Monaco podium yet more than a week after the race? | Listen to Pit Talk here >
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff revealed last weekend that he was taking legal advice on the decision before the team eventually confirmed its intention to appeal, but he said he was pessimistic that a challenge would be successful.
“A drive-through, if it didn’t happen at the end, is equivalent of 20 seconds race time,” he said, per Autosport. “What would 20 seconds race time have meant for his result?
“Do we think that we realistically have a position, a chance of reverting the result? I don’t think so, but we definitely have to give it a go if we see that there is a millimetre of chance to do so and bring him back to whatever it was before.”
His comments — although made before the challenge was confirmed — suggests Mercedes will attempt to use Gasly’s case as a precedent to argue for restitution for Russell. However, the FIA has noted the review to be heard this weekend relates specifically the ruling on Gasly’s penalties.
The situation is further confused by both McLaren and Red Bull Racing taking the Gasly decision to the FIA International Court of Appeal, the highest tribunal in world motorsport.
If Mercedes’s appeal were to result in Gasly’s penalty being reinstated, it would be unclear where that would leave the court case, for which both teams will have already paid both a fee and a deposit worth €25,000 ($40,950).
Drought Broken! Lewis’ 1st Ferrari win | 02:51
TRIPLE HEADER FIRMING AS REINSTATEMENT OPTION FOR CALLED-OFF RACES
Formula 1 will have to create a new triple-header spanning three continents if it is to reinstate one of the two Middle Eastern grands prix called off earlier this season.
The Bahrain and Saudi Arabian grands prix were due to be held in April but called off after United States and Israel strikes on Iran conflagrated into a regional conflict.
However, neither race was definitively cancelled, and Liberty Media CEO Derek Chang told investors in May that it might be possible to reschedule one race toward the end of the season”.
The signing of a memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran this week has sparked hope that the conflict could reach a definitive conclusion, with both sides now locked into a 60-day negotiating period to agree a peaceful resolution.
The cessation of hostilities has already prompted Australia to lower its travel warnings for several Middle Eastern nations, including Bahrain.
Formula 1 CEO Stefano Domenicali forecast earlier this year that it would be “quite difficult” to reinstate even one race because the calendar “is already quite full”, with only two realistic possibilities.
The first would be to prolong the season, which is set to end with a triple-header comprising the Las Vegas (21 November), Qatar (29 November) and Abu Dhabi (6 December) grands prix.
Qatar, however, says it would be unwilling to shift dates to accommodate more races.
“No,” Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation president Abdulrahman bin Abdullatif Al Mannai told The Athletic when asked if a change could be on the cars.
“I don’t see it will shift, because we are really (only) before Abu Dhabi, which is the last round. I think it’s really difficult to shift any dates right now.”
Las Vegas, as a street venue, would be extremely unlikely to move, while Abu Dhabi pays for privilege of hosting the final race and has already booked entertainment acts and sold tickets for its designated weekend.
Al Mannai’s comments, then, strongly suggest that the only possible window to reschedule either the Bahrain or Saudi Arabian races is 2–4 October, the weekend between the Azerbaijan and Singapore grands prix.
That window had already been already emerged as a likely frontrunner given the Baku and Marina Bay races used to be held on consecutive weekends, with the Middle East serving as a transport hub.
The Azerbaijan Grand Prix is scheduled to take place on a Saturday this year owing to a local holiday on Sunday, which would give F1 a bigger logistical window to work with.
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sualyem said a decision wasn’t likely for “a month or two”, by which time the sport will be clearer on the likelihood of racing in the region.
“Logistically you don’t want to go on and then it’s cancelled at the end of the day,” he said, per The Athletic. “Because you have travel, (the) logistics of sending everyone there suddenly.
“To us, in the FIA, the protection of humans and the safeguarding, it’s one of our priorities.”
If either race can be rescheduled, Bahrain is thought to be the more likely option as a permanent circuit that F1 knows well.
Jeddah, though, is listed as safe for travel according to the UK foreign office, which could be decisive in F1’s position.
If neither can be held due to the situation in the Middle East, however, it would raise serious questions about whether the Qatar and Abu Dhabi grands prix could go ahead.
#Adessonews seleziona nella rete articoli di particolare interesse.
Se vuoi leggere l’articolo completo clicca sul seguente link
Source link
