Monaco podium drama deepens as Martin Brundle questions FIA decision

Former Formula 1 driver Martin Brundle has described the decision to restore Pierre Gasly’s Monaco Grand Prix podium as a difficult and controversial situation. Gasly originally finished third in the race, but he was later dropped to seventh place after receiving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. However, Alpine successfully used its right to review the decision, which resulted in Gasly being given back his third-place finish.

Brundle was highly critical of the situation in his Sky Sports F1 column. He described the ruling as “a very complicated and uncomfortable decision.” He explained that other drivers had already served their penalties during the race and adjusted their strategies accordingly, making the later change to the results controversial.

The decision also had a significant impact on other competitors. Isack Hadjar lost what would have been only the second podium finish of his Formula 1 career, while several teams believe they were unfairly affected by the review. Brundle noted that Mercedes, McLaren and Red Bull are expected to challenge the ruling because they lost points as a result. He also warned that the case “sets a precedent of not serving marginal in-race penalties to preserve the right to contest them post-race.”

The controversy began after several drivers were reported for speeding in the Monaco pit lane. Brundle explained that the FIA measures pit lane speed using timing loops rather than the speed displayed on the car’s dashboard. According to him, “one of the timing loops in the Monaco pit lane was 77cm shorter than calibrated, hence lots of 60.1kph recordings when the limit was 60kph.”

Brundle believes there were clear signs that something was wrong because several drivers received almost identical penalties. “There was clearly something amiss with so many identical offences,” he wrote, adding that it was surprising “that the stewards hadn’t been made aware” of the issue sooner.

Although he expects Formula 1 and the FIA to learn from the incident, Brundle admitted that the controversy has no straightforward answer. Summing up the situation, he concluded: “It’s all a mess with no easy solution.”