FIA in 'a lot of trouble' after major Monaco GP podium decision

1997 world champion Jacques Villeneuve has suggested the FIA will be “in a lot of trouble” after overturning Pierre Gasly's penalty from Monaco.

Gasly crossed the line in third place last Sunday, but a duo of five-second time penalties dropped him to seventh.

However, Alpine successfully lodged a Right of Review over the punishments for speeding in the pit lane, with Gasly being one of several drivers deemed guilty of breaching that rule at the time.

But while other teams served their penalties in the race, Alpine did not - giving it scope to appeal the penalty in a stark contrast to those who picked up punishments for the same alleged offence.

RacingNews365 understands that Red Bull and McLaren have signalled their intention to appeal the decision and now have 96 hours to formally proceed with the complaint.

Speaking to Sky F1, Villeneuve voiced that those who served their penalties appropriately have been hard done by.

“When you have a penalty after the race, it's easy to just go back to what it was - you take away the penalty,” he said.

“When the penalty has physically been taken, you can’t just suddenly [say] ‘Oh, here's a bonus 20 seconds’.

“That’s not something you can do because the racing of all the other drivers around him would have been different as well.

“You can't just suddenly give lap time.” 

The situation has left some teams upset, with Villeneuve understanding their frustrations towards how the FIA has handled the process.

“That's a very tough situation for the FIA, because ultimately the drivers who have paid the penalty of the track cannot get it back, but they're in the same situation,” he said.

“So, having given the podium to Gasly puts them in a lot of trouble.”