McLaren lodged an appeal to the FIA International Court of Appeal after Alpine successfully overturned Pierre Gasly’s five‑second pit‑lane penalty, reinstating him on the Monaco podium. The reversal pushed Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri down to fourth and fifth, while Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, Alpine’s Franco Colapinto and Mercedes’ George Russell also lost five seconds. McLaren argues the decision creates an inequitable result for teams that served penalties.

Mercedes filed a separate right‑of‑review request, claiming new evidence shows the Monaco pit‑lane distance was measured incorrectly, a factor that also underpinned Gasly’s appeal. The team will present this data to the original stewards, hoping to overturn penalties for Lewis Hamilton, George Russell and others who also received five‑second sanctions.

McLaren’s statement warned that removing penalties after rivals complied undermines sporting fairness and could erode confidence in the FIA’s regulatory framework. Such appeals are rare; the last team to use the International Court was Alfa Romeo in 2019. Oscar Piastri criticised the inconsistency, noting the pit‑lane error should affect every driver penalised. With the Austrian Grand Prix imminent, the dispute adds another layer of uncertainty to the 2026 championship battle.