The penalties that stripped Pierre Gasly of a podium at the Monaco Grand Prix are now the subject of an official review after it emerged Formula 1 used an inaccurate pit lane distance to measure his speeding offences.
The Alpine driver finished third on the road at last weekend's Monaco Grand Prix, but dropped to seventh in the official classification once two five-second penalties for speeding in the pit lane were applied to his race time.
Gasly was among five drivers who received penalties for pit lane speeding -- all by marginal amounts -- leading to questions over the way in which the speed limit was calculated.
Alpine was the only team to launch a right to review under the FIA's appeal process after the race, and during a hearing on Thursday brought new evidence in the hope it would be deemed admissible for a full review of the penalties.
The process requires the team to bring evidence that was not available to the stewards at the time of the decision and is also considered significant and relevant.
Among the new elements brought by Alpine was the revelation that Formula One Management (FOM) had provided evidence "that the distance used in calculating the F1 Official Timing [and hence the pit lane speed] was inaccurate and overestimated the speed of Car 10."
Based on this evidence alone, the stewards deemed Alpine had fulfilled the requirement of bringing new, significant and relevant information and a second hearing to review the penalty decisions got underway in Spain on Thursday.
- Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix 2026: Race start time, how to watch, full schedule, predictions
- F1 agree change to controversial engine rules after drivers' complaints
- Can George Russell bounce back after Monaco struggles?
Alpine also claimed that the FIA and FOM were aware of an issue with the timing loops in the pit lane in advance of the race, but the stewards noted that representatives from both bodies "strongly refuted" that claim.
In addition, the team presented data that showed Gasly activated his pit lane speed limiter in advance of the entry point and did not exceed the speed limit, as well as a witness statement from the French driver.
Speaking in the paddock on Thursday, ahead of Sunday's Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, Gasly said the lost podium was the biggest setback he's faced in F1 other than the death of his friend Anthoine Hubert in a 2019 Formula 2 race ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix.
"I think to me it's fair to say this was the hardest day I've ever had in F1 and in my sporting career," Gasly said about the Monaco penalty.
"I'm talking sporting-wise, not 2019 with Anthoine, but sporting-wise I would say it was definitely the hardest to deal with because you put in a very strong performance. I think as a kid I grew up watching Formula 1, the iconic Monaco Grand Prix as a Frenchman ... It has a special meaning to me and I never had the chance to go on that podium.
"I know I'm someone who is quite emotional, but dealing with all the emotion I felt after the race for me was extremely hard and intense."