Gasly's hopes for a podium in Monaco are reinvigorated as the FIA allows a hearing.

      Pierre Gasly’s chances of reclaiming his lost Monaco podium remain alive after the FIA decided to reopen the case. The Alpine driver finished the race in P3 at Monaco but did not get to celebrate on the podium, as he was demoted to P7 due to two five-second penalties for speeding in the pitlane. The stewards have now declared that Alpine’s petition for a right of review is valid and will move forward to a second hearing on Friday.

      Crucially, the FIA acknowledged that there was a "significant and new element" that was not available to the stewards during the initial decision-making. Documents reveal that Alpine argued both Formula One Management (FOM) and the teams were aware of a problem with the pitlane timing system before the race, as multiple drivers, including Mercedes' George Russell, received penalties for the same issue.

      Alpine provided evidence indicating that Gasly activated his speed limiter before entering the pitlane and stayed under the 60 kph limit. Their statement said: "FOM, as the Official Timekeeping Supplier for the Competition, presented evidence showing that the distance used for calculating F1 Official Timing (and thus pitlane speed) was incorrect and overestimated the speed of Car 10." The FIA noted that FOM confirmed the inaccurate distance measurement only on the Wednesday following the race.

      During the race, the stewards had already raised concerns after several pitlane speeding violations and consulted race control about potential issues with the timing system. "Race control reported back that it had raised the issue with the official timekeeper and received assurances that there were no problems," the stewards disclosed.

      Gasly was initially penalised for speeds of 60.1 kph and 60.4 kph. The French driver admitted on Thursday that losing the Monaco podium was "the toughest day of my Formula 1 career." However, he is currently taking a cautious approach. "I don’t want to say too much until the hearing concludes and the team has talked to the FIA," he mentioned. "They have worked diligently to gather the new evidence needed to change the outcome."

      Teammate Franco Colapinto also supported the team's stance. "In Monaco, it was possible to cut a little bit of the left kink of the pit entry," the Argentine explained. "It seems that because of the distance, we were deemed to be speeding, but that was not the case."

      If Gasly's penalties are rescinded, the main disadvantage would fall on Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar, who would lose the third-place spot he inherited. "Honestly, the most frustrating aspect would be missing out on the points for third place," he expressed. "I've already felt what it’s like to be on the podium, and that’s the most important thing; no one can take that away from me."