Stella says McLaren's Monaco appeal targets fairness after Gasly penalty reversal cost Piastri points

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella has declared that his team’s appeal against the Monaco Grand Prix result is about protecting “the fairness and integrity” of Formula 1, as the FIA’s International Court of Appeal convened on Tuesday to hear the case brought jointly by McLaren and Red Bull.

The dispute traces back to June’s Monaco Grand Prix, where several drivers — including McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Alpine’s Pierre Gasly — received time penalties for exceeding pitlane speed limits. Those penalties were subsequently revealed to be the product of a timing loop error at the start of Monaco’s distinctive pit entry, meaning the infractions were false flags.

Most penalised drivers had already absorbed their penalties during the race itself. Gasly, however, was handed a double five-second time penalty at the flag, dropping him from third to seventh. When Alpine launched a Right of Review, the stewards rescinded both penalties and restored Gasly’s podium finish — a decision that pushed Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar to fourth and demoted Piastri further down the order.

It is that asymmetry — Gasly’s penalty reversed while Piastri and others had no equivalent recourse — that sits at the heart of McLaren and Red Bull’s appeal.

“We go to the hearing at the International Court of Appeal with a double intent,” Stella said after the Dutch Grand Prix on Sunday. “The first intent is more general than the interest of McLaren. We think that the process that happened after the race in Monaco needs to be reviewed because, from fairness for all competitors, the fact that the penalty was removed introduces some significant elements of concern.”

Stella acknowledged the case could also delve into technical questions around how pitlane speed was calculated, but stressed that the broader principle mattered most. “For me, at a high level, it’s more the fairness and the principle that needs to be clarified and possibly reinstated.”

He was equally candid about McLaren’s material stake in the outcome. “We were also materially penalised for having served a penalty that is not appealable. And this cost us points in the championship. So, there’s a general interest for Formula 1 and the integrity of the sport. And there’s a material interest for McLaren.”

The hearing was scheduled for Tuesday but could extend beyond a single day. A ruling in McLaren and Red Bull’s favour could see the Monaco results revised once more, with significant implications for the constructors’ championship standings.