Why McLaren and Red Bull want to appeal Pierre Gasly podium reversal

On Friday in Barcelona, Pierre Gasly was awarded a podium finish for the Monaco Grand Prix after Alpine successfully lodged a Right of Review over his penalties from last Sunday's race.

Gasly was issued two five-second penalties, dropping him from third on the road to seventh at the chequered flag, as the punishments were not served during the race.

The stewards' document that overturned the result explained that gauging a pit lane speed read is never a read off the car - rather, it is a loop-to-loop distance calculated by crossing times.

After a review following Alpine's appeal, the stewards found that Gasly's corrected speeds fell below the 60 km/h mark, with confusion sparked over the difference between the official zone distance and the real shortest line to enter the pit lane.

RacingNews365 understands that Red Bull and McLaren have lodged their intention to appeal the stewards' ruling on Alpine.

It should be noted that both teams have not yet committed to the process, but now have 96 hours to come to a decision before the window expires.

In the stewards' ruling, they noted that both Red Bull and McLaren presented arguments to avoid Gasly's time penalties being overturned.

Red Bull's head of sporting Stephen Knowles presented four points. They were;

- That the timing was consistent all weekend.

- That the normal process was followed.

- That teams adjusted their systems according to the process in place.

- That teams know the method of calculating the pit lane speed is imperfect.

McLaren, meanwhile, had a quartet of factors of its own. Presented by the team's sporting director Will Courtenay, it argued;

- There is a well-known risk of discrepancies in the pit lane speed calculations.

- Teams coach their drivers on how to manage this.

- All teams adjust their processes accordingly.

- There was conjecture on the issue of “shortest distance”.

The document also mentioned that the Racing Bulls' squad “commented on the calibration process and potential error of the trundle wheel.”

Red Bull and McLaren now have four days to gather their arguments before deciding to officially proceed with a protest.