F1, Penalty Chaos at the Monaco Grand Prix: Mercedes Decides to Back Down

The penalties related to the Monaco Grand Prix—which involved a glaring error by the timing system at the pit lane entrance—continue to spark debate. The decision to award Pierre Gasly a podium finish, following Alpine’s successful appeal, did not sit well with several teams that had been penalized for the same error.

Among them was Mercedes, which, after careful consideration, decided to withdraw its appeal, given the slim chances of success.

“We confirm that we have withdrawn our Request for Review regarding the penalties received and served by George Russell during the Monaco Grand Prix. Following the decision to overturn the time penalty imposed on Pierre Gasly, it was important for us to evaluate all available options to address the impact of George’s pit-lane speeding penalty on his race result. We had a limited window of time to file the Right of Review request during the race weekend in Barcelona, and we did so to reserve our position on the matter. Our subsequent joint discussion with the FIA and Formula 1 demonstrated their determination to examine the exceptional circumstances that arose during the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that led to them. In light of this clear determination, we concluded that proceeding with our Request for Review would not be in the best interest of our team or the sport, and we have therefore withdrawn our request,” according to a statement from Mercedes.

Red Bull and McLaren, however, have not changed their minds and intend to see this matter through to the end.