Pierre Gasly calls Monaco penalty ordeal "the hardest…

Pierre Gasly says losing what could have been a podium finish in last Sunday's Monaco Grand Prix was the hardest sporting moment of his Formula 1 career. The Frenchman crossed the finish line third in the Principality, later describing it as one of his strongest-ever performances.

Yet he was immediately demoted to seventh due to two five-second penalties for pitlane speeding. The added time dropped him behind Isack Hadjar, Oscar Piastri and both Racing Bulls drivers. Gasly and Alpine insist he did not actually exceed the pitlane speed limit, based on their own data, and the team has requested a Right of Review from the FIA in an attempt to overturn the penalties.

The hearing is scheduled to take place on Thursday ahead of the Barcelona Grand Prix weekend. Speaking to the media beforehand, Gasly admitted the emotional impact of the Monaco result had been significant.

Asked how difficult it had been to balance preparing for Barcelona while also working through the review process, Gasly said: "I think to me it's fair to say this was the hardest day I've ever had in F1, and in my sport career.

"You know, I'm talking sporting wise, not, you know, 2019, with Anthoine [Hubert], etc. So sporting wise, I would say it was definitely the hardest to deal with, because put in a very strong performance.

"I think as a kid, obviously I grew up watching Formula 1, the iconic Monaco Grand Prix as a French, it has a special meaning to me, and never had the chance to go on that podium."

Gasly explained that the circumstances made the disappointment particularly difficult to accept because opportunities to fight for podiums are relatively rare for Alpine.

"And again, if you drive a car that gives you the possibility to finish on the podium every other weekend, it's slightly different," he said.

Pierre Gasly, Alpine (Photo by: Erik Junius)

"In my career, I've not been in a position to have that car yet underneath me. So I know when the chance is there, might be once a year, might be once every two years, might be two, three times a year. But once it's there, I want to make sure that I'm the one grabbing it.

"And it was a special place with a special result. It was definitely the toughest, toughest moment."

Despite the outcome, Gasly says he is still proud of the performance Alpine delivered in Monaco: "I think in terms of performance, we've executed everything perfectly with the team.

"Great quali, great start. I managed to pass Lando [Norris] at the first start. I managed to pass Isack at the second start. I think in terms of performance, we can be very proud of what we've achieved during that weekend."

Gasly admitted he needed several days to process the events of Monaco before turning his attention to Barcelona.

"I definitely needed these few days to kind of calm down," he said. "Monaco, let alone, is already very intense as a weekend on and off the track. The driving takes a lot of energy. You run extremely high on adrenaline.

"So mixed with the situation itself, it was quite a lot to process on Monday and Tuesday, but now I'm feeling in a good place to really have 100% of my head into this new race weekend.

"It's been quite a lot of conversation with the team, with the lawyers, with our case, etc. So I'm still very much into what happened and the whole situation."

According to the regulations, to successfully challenge the penalties issued during the race, Alpine must present the FIA stewards with significant and relevant new evidence that was not available during the grand prix.