Gasly calls Monaco penalty demotion the hardest day of his F1 career

Pierre Gasly has described losing a potential Monaco Grand Prix podium to a pair of post-race penalties as the hardest moment of his Formula 1 career, as his Alpine team awaits a Right of Review hearing with the FIA on Thursday.

The Frenchman crossed the line third at the Circuit de Monaco on Sunday but was immediately demoted to seventh after stewards applied two five-second penalties for pitlane speeding. The time additions dropped him behind Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri and both Racing Bulls drivers. Alpine maintain their own data shows Gasly did not actually exceed the pitlane speed limit, and the review hearing is scheduled to take place ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix weekend in Barcelona.

Speaking to the media before the hearing, Gasly was candid about the emotional toll. “I think to me it’s fair to say this was the hardest day I’ve ever had in F1, and in my sport career,” he said, adding a careful distinction: “Sporting wise — not 2019, with Anthoine [Hubert]. Sporting wise, I would say it was definitely the hardest to deal with.”

For Gasly, the Monaco setting deepened the pain. Growing up watching the race as a French fan, he had never previously stood on the Principality podium, and he was acutely aware of how rarely Alpine’s car gives him a realistic chance to fight for one. “If you drive a car that gives you the possibility to finish on the podium every other weekend, it’s slightly different,” he said. “In my career, I’ve not been in a position to have that car yet underneath me. So I know when the chance is there — might be once a year, might be once every two years. But once it’s there, I want to make sure that I’m the one grabbing it.”

Despite the result, Gasly was keen to separate the penalty controversy from Alpine’s on-track display. “In terms of performance, we’ve executed everything perfectly with the team,” he said. “Great quali, great start. I managed to pass Lando [Norris] at the first start. I managed to pass Isack at the second start. In terms of performance, we can be very proud of what we’ve achieved during that weekend.”

The outcome of the Right of Review will determine whether Gasly’s seventh-place finish stands or whether he is reinstated to third. A successful review would hand Alpine a significant points boost and give Gasly the Monaco podium he has long sought.