Strategy

Mercedes Withdraws Monaco Right of Review: Russell Stays P12

Answer

Confirmed

Mercedes has withdrawn its Right of Review petition over George Russell's Monaco Grand Prix penalties, accepting his 12th-place finish as final. The team had sought to challenge the result after Alpine successfully overturned Pierre Gasly's similar pitlane speeding penalties using new FOM timekeeping data. McLaren and Red Bull have taken a separate route, lodging appeals with the FIA International Court of Appeal.

Mercedes ends its Monaco challenge ahead of the Austrian Grand Prix

Mercedes has withdrawn its Right of Review request with the FIA over the Monaco Grand Prix results, closing the team's attempt to revisit the stewards' decisions from a race that proved deeply costly for George Russell. ^[1] The FIA announced the withdrawal on Thursday, with the team confirming the decision on Friday morning. ^[5]

The pitlane timing error that started it all

During Alpine's Right of Review hearing, it was established that the distance measuring system used to calculate pitlane speeds was "inaccurate and overestimated the speed" of the cars; this finding was based on evidence provided by Formula One Management, which is responsible for the timing system, and the data had only become available after race day. ^[6] Alongside Gasly, several other drivers fell victim to the speed measurement errors, including Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Franco Colapinto and Oscar Piastri. ^[9]

Russell's race unravelled by a chain of penalties

Russell was one of five drivers who received five-second time penalties for pitlane speeding; he then failed to serve that penalty correctly at a pit stop and was handed a drive-through, which dropped him to 12th when he had been on course for a likely podium. ^[4] Confirmation of Mercedes' withdrawal means the team has accepted Russell's P12 result as final. ^[1]

Why Mercedes stepped back

Following discussions with the FIA and Formula One Management, Mercedes concluded that pursuing the request would not achieve any positive outcome for either the team or the championship. ^[5] The team had lodged the petition only after Alpine's successful review reinstated Gasly to the podium, with Mercedes only requesting a review of the Monaco GP results following that reinstatement of Pierre Gasly's third place. ^[5]

McLaren and Red Bull press on via a different route

While Mercedes has backed away from further action, McLaren and Red Bull are going ahead with taking the matter to the FIA's International Court of Appeal. ^[2] The stewards had regarded Alpine's pitlane distance evidence as a "significant and relevant new element," which led to Gasly's penalties being rescinded. ^[4] The McLaren and Red Bull cases will be heard by the FIA International Court of Appeal at a yet-to-be-announced date. ^[8]

:::analysis Mercedes faced a structurally harder task than Alpine in any Right of Review. Alpine's case rested on the straightforward FOM measurement error, evidence that emerged only after the race. Russell's situation involved an additional drive-through penalty for an incorrectly served sanction, a separate regulatory finding that the same new evidence would not automatically undo. Withdrawing before the Saturday hearing preserved the team's resources and avoided the risk of an adverse precedent being set in a case that the team itself acknowledged had limited prospects of success. The Monaco saga is far from over: the ICA proceedings initiated by McLaren and Red Bull will set the next chapter of this regulatory debate, with implications for how pitlane speed infractions are measured and challenged across the rest of the 2026 season. :::