Gasly took the chequered flag in third in Monte Carlo, but was pushed back to seventh in the final classification after being penalised twice for pit lane speeding offences of 0.1 km/h and 0.4 km/h.
However, Alpine successfully argued in Thursday’s hearing that there was new, significant and relevant evidence that had not been available to the stewards when the original penalties were issued.
The key evidence was supplied by Formula One Management (FOM) and centred on the pit lane measurement used by the timing system, which was found to be “inaccurate and overestimated the speed” of Gasly’s car.
It means the FIA’s system may have worked as designed during the race, but was relying on incorrect distance data when determining whether cars had exceeded the pit lane speed limit.
A second hearing into the penalties followed later on Thursday, although the stewards are not expected to issue their verdict until Friday in Barcelona.
Gasly was one of several drivers hit with pit lane speeding penalties during a chaotic Monaco race, with Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Oscar Piastri and Alpine team-mate Franco Colapinto also among those sanctioned.
The number of penalties raised immediate concerns in the paddock, particularly as several drivers and teams insisted they had been cautious through the pit lane and had not exceeded the 60km/h limit.
Alpine argued Gasly had activated his pit lane speed limiter before entering the pits and had taken a conservative approach after being warned by his engineers.
The team also claimed the FIA and FOM were aware before the race that there may have been an issue with the timing loops, although representatives from both strongly denied that suggestion during the hearing.
Any change to Gasly’s sanctions could create a broader headache, given other drivers had already served similar penalties during the race rather than having them added to their final race time.
That makes any adjustment to the final result difficult, even if the stewards decide Gasly’s penalties should be rescinded.
The outcome could prove significant for Gasly, who was denied what would have been his first podium of the season and his first around the streets of Monaco.
Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar inherited third place after Gasly’s penalties were applied, leaving the Alpine driver to process what he later described as the toughest sporting moment of his career.
“I don’t want to say too much until the hearing is done and until the team has the conversation with the FIA,” Gasly said.
“I think they’ve worked really hard and basically did the best they could to bring the new evidence.
“It’s been quite a lot of conversation with the team, with the lawyers, with our case, so I’m still very much into what happened and the whole situation.
“But at the same time, I’m glad that we have another race.
“I was already kind of trying to get my head around it and make sure that I come here, 100 percent of myself to perform here. I think on one side, I’m pleased. We’re proud of the performance.
“We’re very proud of what we achieved in Monaco.
“It’s fair to say this was the hardest day I’ve ever had in F1, and in my sport career, sporting-wise.”
Gasly also clarified that he had been aware of the penalties after the race, despite appearing to celebrate on the in-lap.
“I was aware at that time [of the penalty], it’s just running extremely high on emotions after a perfectly executed race,” he added.
“I was really proud of the performance we had with the team, and crossing the line in third, which should be awarded with the podium, and it was my way of having my moment.
“That’s how I wanted to deal with the situation, to share any type of emotion I had.”
Alpine’s position after the race was that it wanted clarity over how the penalties had been issued, with team boss Steve Nielsen saying the team did not believe its drivers had broken the limit.
“To be honest, we don’t understand why we got those,” Nielsen said.
“We don’t understand why a lot of teams got those. I think six infringements, three by our team, one by Ferrari [Lewis Hamilton], one by McLaren [Oscar Piastri], one by Mercedes [George Russell], which is very, very unusual.
“That’s the sort of number you would expect to see across a season, and we saw them all in one race today.”
2026 F1 Barcelona Grand Prix – Schedule, how to watch, TV times & more
Discussion about this post