Pierre Gasly after Monaco penalties deny Alpine podium finish: I’m just heartbroken

Now Alpine have fired back, formally requesting a Right of Review from the FIA in a bid to overturn the costly sanctions that dumped the Frenchman from a sensational P3 to seventh.

In a race defined by chaos - multiple Safety Cars and a red flag - Gasly delivered one of his finest drives of the season. Starting ninth on the grid, he carved through the field on the tricky street circuit to sit in fourth before George Russell’s late drive-through promoted him to third on the road.

But post-race, stewards hit him with two separate five-second penalties for exceeding the pit lane speed limit, a total of ten seconds that crushed the result.

“After the result of today’s Monaco Grand Prix, BWT Alpine Formula 1 Team can confirm it has requested a Right of Review from the FIA following the penalties applied for pit lane speeding,” the team said in a brief but pointed statement.

The raw emotion poured out of Gasly as he faced the media shortly after the race: “Right now, I’m just heartbroken. I don’t know what to say. I don’t want to be speaking right now,” he admitted, voice heavy with disappointment.

“We all work so hard to get these moments, and then when it gets taken away from you for some things which we need to review… The team set the right speed limiter, and I put it way before the line on both times.”

Gasly continued: “I crossed the line in P3 in Monaco in front of all the fans and all the people here, and in the end we get penalised and finish far away. I don’t really know what to say.”

It’s the kind of moment that stings deeply in Formula 1. Monaco podiums are rare, magical prizes — especially for a driver who has only five in his decade-long career. Gasly knows the pain all too well.

Asked if there were positives to take from Alpine’s strong weekend showing, he replied: “It’s been 10 years I do this, I have five podiums in my career, and it hurts when you pass the line on the podium and then… I don’t know…”

“Hopefully they [Alpine] can fight it, hopefully they can appeal it, because I just feel like we’ve done everything we had to do.”

The Right of Review process is no guarantee of success. The FIA will examine whether significant new evidence has emerged that was unavailable at the time of the original decision.

Alpine will need to present a compelling case around the timing of the speed limiter activation and the exact points where Gasly allegedly breached the limit.

A successful review could hand Gasly his first podium since 2023 and inject huge momentum into Alpine’s season. The team has shown flashes of genuine pace in recent races, and a Monaco result like this would validate their development direction.

The 2026 Monaco Grand Prix will be remembered for its interruptions. The red flag and multiple Safety Car periods turned strategy into a high-stakes gamble. Alpine clearly got their calls right on track, positioning Gasly perfectly to capitalise.

That makes the post-race penalties even more frustrating. In a sport where margins are razor-thin, questions will linger about the consistency of pit lane speeding enforcement, especially when drivers are managing complex systems under pressure.

Alpine have been competitive this weekend, proving they can mix it with the front runners on a technical layout like Monaco. Turning that performance into points is now the priority and the Right of Review is their first step.

Gasly’s reaction shows just how much this one meant. In F1, podiums don’t come often, and when they’re taken away after the fact, the heartbreak runs deep. We’ll await the FIA’s decision with interest.