Pierre Gasly was penalised twice for pit lane speeding during the Monaco Grand Prix despite repeated warnings from his team. The two five-second penalties dropped him from third to seventh in the provisional classification, although Alpine has filed a Right of Review request following the race.
The stewards issued five-second penalties to five drivers for exceeding the pit lane speed limit; Gasly was the only driver to receive two. While the other penalties came during standard pit stops, Gasly’s second infringement occurred when the whole field was instructed to drive through the pit lane during the first Safety Car period.
Alpine flagged the risk of a penalty to Gasly after George Russell was the first driver caught for pit lane speeding. The team radio shows the squad urging careful pit entry shortly before Gasly pitted:
| Lap: 38/78 GAS: 1’19.068 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Russell has a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 45/78 GAS: 1’37.189 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Norris looks like he’s retiring. Okay mate, box, box. Lawson has boxed. Box now. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Cautious pit entry please, cautious pit entry with speed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Six laps after his stop the stewards confirmed Gasly had been penalised for speeding. Alpine initially believed that if Gasly maintained a safe margin over Liam Lawson and did not need to pit again, the time penalty applied after the race would not cost him a position.
The team continued to monitor the gap and encouraged Gasly to keep pace while preserving the margin needed to absorb the five-second penalty:
| Lap: 51/78 GAS: 1’19.348 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay mate, so Lawson is 15 seconds behind, last lap 17.2, we have a five-second penalty for pit lane speeding. So we’ve just got to keep that five-second gap to him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 52/78 GAS: 1’17.950 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | So it’s 25 laps to go. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | We need to keep our pace up to the end. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 53/78 GAS: 1’17.055 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | All we did mate is some clean laps and we’ll be fine, it’s 14 seconds gap. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Last up, 17.7. Nice job mate, more like that. There’s lots of cars being investigated for speeding, we’re not really sure why at the minute. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Alpine warned Gasly a Safety Car could upset their plan by bringing rivals closer, and urged him to avoid another pit stop because serving the penalty during the race would leave him vulnerable. When Lance Stroll crashed at Anthony Noghes, Gasly’s engineer reiterated the instruction to stay out:
| Lap: 57/78 GAS: 1’17.963 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay mate, if for any reason we need to pit again, we need to undershoot speed at pit entry by [message cuts]. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gasly | Copy. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lap: 59/78 GAS: 1’39.182 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay, we’ve got yellow flag turn 19, looks like Stroll’s stopped there. Stopped turn 19 and Safety Car, Safety Car. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay mate, so we need to stay out please. We need to stay out otherwise we’ve got to serve a penalty which will hurt, so we can’t do that. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay, so stay as close to zero as you can, please, on the delta ’til pit exit. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The entire field was instructed to drive through the pit lane while Stroll’s car was recovered. Alpine continued to warn Gasly to be cautious, but he was again detected above the limit — this time by a larger margin (0.4 kph rather than 0.1 kph) — and received a second five-second penalty. No other driver was penalised during that immediate sequence.
| Lap: 60/78 GAS: 1’53.136 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay mate, so let’s go recharge on please, recharge on and all cars are going to drive through the pit lane. I need extra caution at pit entry please with speed there, so very steady on the way in. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gasly | Yes. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay mate, so let’s focus on just going through this little bit first and we’ll talk about everything else. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay, be prepared, we might stop for softs here, stand by please. For now, just drive through the pit lane, caution pit entry, undershoot speed. Through the pit lane, please. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Stay… Drive through please, drive through, drive through. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
When the race resumed, Charles Leclerc then crashed at the same corner, prompting another Safety Car period and a second passage through the pit lane. Alpine’s engineer informed Gasly they had been “caught” again for speeding and urged him to undershoot the pit entry speed.
| Lap: 66/78 GAS: 1’54.401 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Safety Car. Safety Car. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | So all cars are going to go through the pit lane again, all cars going to go through the pit lane again. So again, undershoot that pit entry please, like you did before. So we are driving through the pit lane. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Okay, mate, we’ve been caught speeding again. Drive through the pit lane, please. Undershoot speed. Undershoot speed properly, please as best we can. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gasly | How… | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Talks over him I don’t know why, but we’ve just got to do it, mate. Just drive steady through the pit lane. Undershoot particularly pit entry. Undershoot all the way along. I’m not sure what’s going on. It’s not just us. Lots of cars are getting it. Keep driving through. |
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The stewards confirmed Gasly’s second penalty during the red flag period, so he was aware on rejoining the race that he faced two five-second time additions. Given the close proximity of rivals including Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri and Liam Lawson, it was clear his podium was at serious risk.
On crossing the line Gasly initially reacted as though celebrating a podium result, but his engineer told him to wait, and later radio exchanges were not broadcast. He did not stop at the third-place marker in the pit lane, indicating he knew he was unlikely to go to the rostrum. As he hurried back around the circuit he caught up quickly with a Ferrari ahead and had to brake hard to avoid contact.
| Chequered flag | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | That is the chequered flag. Strat 13, please. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gasly | P3, fucking P3 I give a [message cuts] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peckett | Wait, wait, wait… Gasly quickly catches Hamilton at Massenet and brakes hard to avoid hitting him |
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Alpine has lodged a Right of Review over Gasly’s penalties. If one penalty is overturned he would be promoted to fifth in the final results; if both are removed he would be reinstated to third place.
Race stewards and teams will now consider the evidence as Alpine pursues its review. The outcome will determine Gasly’s final finishing position and whether his initial provisional demotion stands.