Pierre Gasly (Alpine) after finishing third in Monaco: trophy has finally arrived

Alpine’s sporting director Steve Nielsen expressed his regret: “I felt sorry for Pierre Gasly in Monaco. He’d secured a brilliant third place for us, and then he wasn’t allowed to celebrate it.”

The 30-year-old Frenchman had crossed the finish line in third place, but was then penalised for speeding in the pit lane – two five-second penalties, leaving him in seventh place.

After the race, Pierre Gasly told journalists that his team would provide data proving that he had not exceeded the permitted 60 km/h in the pit lane at any point.

Gasly, after his first podium finish since Brazil 2024: “I know from a reliable source that the speed in the car was below 60 km/h. The speed limiter is probably the simplest setting you can adjust in a Formula 1 car. I’d say: if three or four teams are caught speeding at the same time, then something can’t be quite right.”

Five days after the Monaco Grand Prix, the stewards had to admit their mistake: the penalty imposed on Gasly was not justified. Alpine had exercised the so-called right to review, which allows a team to challenge an FIA penalty provided valid grounds are put forward.

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The reasoning behind the ruling was extremely lengthy; we’ll spare you the seven pages. The key point is this: Alpine was able to prove that Gasly was never travelling faster than the permitted 60, and in fact the measurement error occurred because the FIA had measured the pit lane 77 cm incorrectly.

But it took a while before Pierre Gasly finally received his trophy (in the shape of the Monaco circuit). The 30-year-old Frenchman wrote on Instagram: “The Monaco Trophy has found its way home.”

This, incidentally, also prompted a reaction from ‘Stranger Things’ actor Noah Schnapp (see photo).