Liam Lawson counters Monaco podium controversy: 'It makes sense'

Liam Lawson has defended the FIA’s controversial decision to reinstate Pierre Gasly to third place at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Gasly was found to have been incorrectly handed two five-second time penalties last Sunday, which dropped him to seventh place after he initially crossed the line in third.

However, several other drivers were affected by the same ruling and could not have their penalties overturned because they had already served them during the race.

The decision drew strong criticism from Oscar Piastri in Barcelona, with the McLaren driver questioning the FIA’s reasoning behind the outcome.

While Lawson acknowledged that the situation was “unfair” to those who had already served their penalties, he argued that the FIA was simply following the procedures available to it.

“It's easy to probably look at it like that now,” Lawson told media including RacingNews365 when asked if there was a precedent set.

“It's not very often that a penalty gets reversed afterwards, but obviously the way the guidelines are written, it makes sense. 

“It's not that they're wrong, it's not unfair - it's more just unfair to the guys that serve their penalties in the race for the exact same thing.”

The removal of Gasly's penalties bumped Lawson back to sixth place, taking away the achievement of equaling his career-best result.

While it was disappointing for Racing Bulls, Lawson asserted that it did not eliminate what was a very strong event for the team.

“I'm not part of the decision-making, it's disappointing for us to lose a spot,” he said.

“I think it's more just about the guys that served their penalties in the race. They're probably more frustrated than I am, and I think that's where it gets a little bit tricky. 

“So, for us, it's just a lost position. But we still had a great week in Monaco.”