McLaren and Red Bull are awaiting a hearing date at the FIA’s International Court of Appeal following the controversial reinstatement of Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium.
The dispute stems from the Monaco Grand Prix, where several drivers including Gasly, Franco Colapinto, Oscar Piastri, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton were penalised for exceeding pitlane speed limits.
It later emerged that those penalties were caused by a timing loop error at the start of Monaco’s unique pit entry, making them entirely false flags.
All affected drivers except Gasly had already served their time penalties during the race, while the Frenchman received a double five-second penalty at the flag, dropping him from third to seventh.
Alpine subsequently requested a Right of Review, and over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend the stewards rescinded both of Gasly’s penalties, restoring his podium finish.
That decision demoted Isack Hadjar to fourth and also bumped Piastri further down the order, despite the Australian having already served his erroneous penalty on track during the race itself.
McLaren formally appealed against documents 99, 100 and 101 of the Monaco Grand Prix, covering the reinstatement of Gasly’s podium, the updated race classification and revised championship standings.
“The subsequent removal of penalties creates a situation in which some competitors are disadvantaged by having acted in accordance with the rules and the stewards’ decisions,” McLaren stated in their official response to the ruling.
Red Bull also lodged an appeal against the amended result amid concerns over the sporting implications of what is considered an unprecedented stewards’ decision.
Wider concern has spread across the paddock, with fears that the Monaco precedent now incentivises drivers not to serve penalties during a race and protest afterwards instead, potentially affecting strategy across multiple situations.
Mercedes separately filed a Right of Review to explore whether Russell’s penalties could also be undone, given that his Monaco race spiralled entirely out of control after he was hit with a time penalty.
However, following discussions with the FIA and Formula 1 management, Mercedes withdrew its application by Thursday night, accepting that unpicking Russell’s penalties was not achievable.
“Our subsequent collaborative discussion with FIA and Formula 1 has shown their determination to review the unique circumstances arising from the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that caused them,” a Mercedes statement confirmed.
By lodging their appeals and paying the required €5,000 appeal fee and €20,000 deposit, McLaren and Red Bull have now taken the matter to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal in Geneva.
The ICA is an independent body composed of 36 judges elected at the FIA General Assembly, with at least three judges assigned per case by ICA president Lauren Anselmi from Monaco.
Both teams had up to 15 days to submit their grounds for appeal in French and English, with the FIA as respondent then receiving another 15 days to submit a formal response.
A hearing is expected to take place sometime in July, after which the court will deliberate and deliver a verdict that could confirm, alter or waive Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix penalty.