FIA appeal restores Isack Hadjar’s Monaco podium and drops Pierre Gasly to seventh
What happened
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Isack Hadjar is back in third place in the official result of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix after the FIA International Court of Appeal reinstated two five-second penalties issued to Pierre Gasly for speeding in the pit lane. Formula 1 reported the decision on Friday, September 4, following an appeal hearing held in Paris on August 25.
The revised classification moves the Red Bull driver Hadjar to third, promotes McLaren’s Oscar Piastri to fourth and lifts Racing Bulls pair Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad to fifth and sixth. Gasly, who had briefly regained the podium through Alpine’s right-of-review case, returns to seventh place.
How the result changed
Gasly crossed the line third in Monaco but initially lost that position when the stewards added two five-second penalties to his race time. Hadjar therefore stood as the classified third-place finisher. Alpine then presented new evidence through a right of review, arguing that its own measurements showed Gasly had not exceeded the pit-lane speed limit.
That review succeeded in June, removing the penalties and restoring Gasly to third. Red Bull and McLaren subsequently appealed the decision to the FIA’s International Court of Appeal. The court has now set aside the review outcome and restored the original sanctions, producing another change to a race result nearly three months after the event.
Why the court ruled this way
According to the judgment summarized by Formula 1, the dispute centered on the distance parameter used by the official timing system to calculate pit-lane speed. The court concluded that sporting fairness and equal treatment required the official timekeeper’s adopted parameter to remain fixed for the competition once teams had calibrated their cars and competed by reference to it.
That reasoning mattered beyond Gasly’s individual result. Changing the measurement basis after the race could have treated one competitor differently from others who were governed by the same official system during the event. The appeal therefore restored both penalties and the classification that followed from them.
Tournament impact
The ruling reallocates points among four drivers and three teams. Hadjar receives the points for third place, while Piastri, Lawson and Lindblad each gain one position compared with the classification created by Alpine’s successful review. Gasly loses the podium points and is scored seventh.
The decision also gives Hadjar the Monaco podium that he originally inherited after the chequered flag. For Formula 1’s championship tables, the outcome is not merely ceremonial: every revised position changes the points totals carried into the remaining rounds of the 2026 season.
What they said and what comes next
Formula 1’s official report says Alpine expressed disappointment and maintained that its car did not exceed the pit-lane limit, while confirming that it accepts the court’s resolution. The team said it would keep its focus on improving its on-track performance during a closely contested championship.
The appeal judgment settles the classification through the FIA court process. It also leaves teams with a clear operational lesson: their pit-lane speed calculations must align with the common official timing parameter used for the event, even when separate measurement methods produce a different reading.
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