A final answer on the Monaco Grand Prix result could still be weeks away

The wait for closure on the Monaco Grand Prix result is set to drag on, with McLaren and Red Bull facing the possibility of a further two to three weeks before the International Court of Appeal (ICA) rules on whether Pierre Gasly's reinstated podium should stand.

The saga dates back to June, when Alpine driver Gasly originally lost a third-place finish in Monte Carlo after receiving two five-second time penalties for exceeding the pit lane speed limit. What followed was a remarkable twist: Alpine successfully appealed the rescue sanctions after it emerged the pit lane length had been measured incorrectly.

The corrective to remove Gasly's penalties triggered a fresh dispute, with McLaren and Red Bull escalating the matter to the FIA's International Court of Appeal — the body that sits above the FIA-appointed stewards. Should the ICA's findings come toward the end of that time frame in mid-September, the definitive result for the Monaco GP would only become clear more than three months after the race took place on June 7.

Who stands to lose the most?

The stakes are significant. Red Bull driver Isack Hadjar was initially promoted to third place as a result of Gasly's penalty, only for the decision to overturn it cost him what would have been his first podium finish for the team. For McLaren, Oscar Piastri also dropped from fourth to fifth when Gasly's instalment rescue was cancelled, having already served his own penalty for pit lane speeding.

The ICA cut a full-day hearing on Tuesday, attended by representatives from Alpine, Red Bull and McLaren, alongside officials from the FIA and F1. The remaining teams have engaged with the case as observers. But sources told The Athletic, speaking on condition of anonymity to protect relationships, that the judges presiding over the hearing informed those in attendance there may not be a decision on their findings for another two to three weeks.

After a day of intense submissions, the judges require time to fully consider all of the evidence and arguments before writing up their findings and issuing a final decision. The complexity is amplified by an unusually high number of pit lane speeding penalties handed out at the race.

A race full of pit lane infringements

Beyond Gasly and Piastri, Lewis Hamilton, Franco Colapinto and George Russell also received penalties for breaking the pit lane speed limit of 60 km/h — which operates as an average speed check across the length of the pit lane. Five of the six sanctions were just 0.1 km/h over the limit.

Russell's race was effectively destroyed by the penalty after he was forced to serve it in the pits following a red flag, tumbling him down the order and out of the points. Piastri, Hamilton and Colapinto served their penalties in-race by waiting five seconds in the pits before mechanics could service the car.

Unlike the other four drivers, Gasly had not been able to serve his penalties before the checkered flag, so 10 seconds were added to his final finishing time, dropping him from third on the track to seventh and leaving the Frenchman devastated after the race.

A 77cm discrepancy that changed everything

Alpine fought the case against Gasly's penalty by launching a 'Right of Review' against the stewards' decision, in which it emerged there was a 77cm discrepancy between the recorded distance of the pit lane used by the timekeeper and the actual distance measured manually by Alpine after the race. Removing Gasly's penalties reinstated him to the podium.

The other penalties, however, could not be appealed as they had already been served. Four days after Gasly's penalty was overturned, McLaren announced it would be appealing the decision.

'The fairness and the principle needs to be clarified'

Speaking to reporters at the Dutch GP last weekend, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella described a “double intent” for the team going into the ICA hearing — relating not just to McLaren's own bid to regain points but also to ensuring the process of applying and reviewing F1 penalties is carried out fairly.

“We think that the process that happened after the race in Monaco is a process that needs to be reviewed because from fairness for all competitors the fact that the penalty was removed introduces some significant elements of concern,” Stella explained. “There's obviously more related to this case. It can go into the technical aspects of how the pit limiter speed was calculated. But for me, at a high level, it is more the fairness and the principle that needs to be clarified and possibly reinstated, because I think what happened sets some significant concerns.”

For now, both affected teams and a pair of wronged drivers must simply wait, with the murky conclusion to one of the season's most unusual races still out of reach.