Red Bull keeps Gasly's Monaco trophy as it weighs appeal

Red Bull is refusing to hand over Pierre Gasly's Monaco Grand Prix third-place trophy as the team weighs whether to formally appeal the stewards' decision that reinstated the Alpine driver to the podium at Isack Hadjar's expense. The standoff follows a ruling that wiped out Gasly's two pitlane speeding penalties after Alpine proved a timing error meant he never actually broke the limit.

Why it matters:

The dispute runs deeper than a piece of silverware. At stake is how Formula 1 handles in-race penalties based on data teams have long accepted as imperfect but consistent. Red Bull contends that every competitor has adapted to the same pitlane speed measurements for years, and overturning results after the fact risks eroding trust in live race decisions.

The details:

• Alpine proved during a Barcelona hearing that a mismatch between Formula One Management's stated pitlane length and the real distance meant Gasly was wrongly penalized twice in Monaco.
• The FIA rescinded the penalties last Friday, promoting Gasly to third and demoting Hadjar to fourth.
• Red Bull and McLaren filed notices to appeal by Tuesday. Team principal Laurent Mekies insists the move is about "principle for the good of the sport."
• Mercedes has filed a separate right of review after George Russell's own Monaco pitlane speeding penalty triggered a drive-through that cost him points. Toto Wolff called success "a long shot" but wants a seat at the table.
• Red Bull has broken with tradition by not surrendering the trophy to Alpine while the appeal window is open. Its current whereabouts are unclear.

What's next:

Red Bull and McLaren must decide by Tuesday whether to commit to formal appeals or let the revised Monaco classification stand. If either team proceeds, the case could force the FIA to clarify how it handles post-race challenges to in-race penalties—and how it treats the imperfect measurement systems underpinning them.