Mercedes requests FIA review of Monaco GP result after Russell penalty

Mercedes escalates Monaco result dispute

Mercedes has formally asked the FIA to review the result of the Monaco Grand Prix, submitting a Right of Review request after the race classification was thrown into doubt by the handling of pit lane speeding penalties.

At the centre of the matter is the stewards’ admission, made in their verdict on Gasly, that the pit lane speeding penalties were issued incorrectly. According to that decision, the error stemmed from the pit lane length being measured as 77 metres shorter than it actually was.

Russell’s penalty becomes Mercedes’ focal point

Five drivers were penalised for pit lane speeding during the race, including Gasly, George Russell and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. Gasly received two penalties but did not serve either during the Grand Prix. Both were later cancelled after a hearing last Thursday, restoring him to the podium through Alpine’s successful review.

Russell’s case was more damaging in sporting terms. Unlike Gasly, he entered his pit box after receiving a five-second penalty, meaning he should have served it during the race. Instead, he was issued a harsher drive-through penalty, which drivers are required to serve within three laps. When Russell served it with seven laps remaining, he dropped from third to 14th.

Piastri also served his five-second penalty during the race. Once Gasly’s penalties were removed, Piastri slipped from fourth to fifth in the final classification.

Wolff cautious despite legal push

Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff said last weekend that the team had spoken to its lawyers about the stewards’ decision to overturn Gasly’s penalty, though he openly questioned whether Mercedes could realistically reverse the outcome.

“Do we think that we realistically have a position, a chance of reverting the result? I don’t think so,” Wolff said. “But we definitely have to give it a go if we see that there is a millimetre of chance to do so and bring him back to whatever it was – P4 [or] P3.”

Russell’s team mate Andrea Kimi Antonelli won the race. The Monaco result now sits under formal scrutiny, with Mercedes joining the broader challenge to a penalty process the stewards themselves have acknowledged was flawed.