McLaren and Red Bull take Monaco Gasly podium controversy to FIA's International Court of Appeal

McLaren and Red Bull are awaiting a hearing date at the FIA’s International Court of Appeal after both teams challenged the Monaco Grand Prix stewards’ decision to restore Pierre Gasly’s third-place finish, a ruling that dropped Oscar Piastri and Isack Hadjar down the final classification.

How the controversy unfolded

At Monaco, several drivers — including Gasly, his Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto, Piastri, George Russell and Lewis Hamilton — were penalised for exceeding pitlane speed limits. It subsequently emerged that those infractions were false positives, caused by a timing loop error at the start of Monaco’s distinctive pit entry.

All affected drivers except Gasly had already served their time penalties during the race. Gasly received a double five-second penalty at the flag, which dropped him from third to seventh. Alpine then lodged a Right of Review, and over the Spanish Grand Prix weekend the stewards rescinded both of Gasly’s penalties, restoring his podium. That decision demoted Red Bull’s Hadjar to fourth and pushed Piastri further down the order despite the Australian having served his own penalty on track.

What McLaren and Red Bull are arguing

On 16 June, McLaren announced it had appealed against documents 99, 100 and 101 of the Monaco Grand Prix — the stewards’ reinstatement of Gasly’s podium, the updated race classification, and the revised championship standings.

The team’s central argument is that the stewards’ ruling effectively rewarded Gasly for not serving his penalties while penalising those who had complied with the original decisions.

“While we fully respect the FIA’s judicial processes and the role of the stewards, we believe this case raises important questions concerning sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competition,” McLaren stated. “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. Such an outcome risks creating sporting inequity and undermining confidence in the consistent application of the FIA Sporting Regulations.”

Red Bull also filed an appeal against the amended result, citing concerns over the sporting implications of what was described as an unprecedented stewards’ decision.

What comes next

Both teams are now waiting for the International Court of Appeal to schedule a hearing. The court is the FIA’s highest judicial body for sporting disputes and operates independently of the stewards who issued the original and revised decisions. Its rulings are binding and represent the final stage of the appeals process within the FIA’s regulatory framework.

McLaren and Red Bull are not alone in their unease. Several other teams have reportedly expressed concern — either privately or publicly — about the precedent set by the stewards’ decision to reverse penalties after the race result had been declared final.