Why were so many caught out for pit-lane speeding at Monaco? F1 Q&A
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- Five drivers — Lewis Hamilton, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto — were penalised for exceeding Monaco's 60km/h pit-lane speed limit, all by a margin of just 0.1km/h, with Gasly also recording a second offence 0.4km/h over.
- The FIA's measurement system uses timing loops and on-car transponders rather than a speed gun, meaning drivers who shorten distance by cutting the pit-lane's white lines can trip the limit even while not exceeding 60km/h at any single point.
- Lewis Hamilton rejected the penalty after the race, saying: "I wasn't speeding. It's just the way the pit lane is. I've done this pit lane for years," and warned the issue "destroys you on a track so short."
- Alpine requested a right of review for Gasly — a rare appeal mechanism required because pit-lane speeding penalties aren't subject to direct appeal — but a successful outcome would in theory only alter Gasly's result, not the other drivers'.
- The penalties had concrete consequences: Piastri lost track position, Gasly lost a podium place, and Russell saw a potential P3 converted to zero points after Mercedes fumbled his safety-car pit stop and failed to serve the penalty correctly.
- Mercedes had instructed both drivers to go wide on pit-lane entry to avoid the trap, yet Russell still triggered the limit — part of a broader slump he acknowledged after qualifying, saying he has not been maximising the car all season.
- George Russell now trails Kimi Antonelli by 68 points in the drivers' standings after Antonelli cruised to his fifth successive victory at Monaco, with Hamilton (Ferrari) second and Isack Hadjar (Red Bull) completing the podium.
Why it matters: Five drivers were sanctioned by a single 0.1km/h margin because Monaco's tight pit-lane geometry combined with the FIA's distance-based timing loops can flag cars that drivers maintain were not truly exceeding the limit. Russell's zero-point Monaco — a potential P3 erased by Mercedes' bungled safety-car stop — crystallises a 68-point intra-team deficit to Antonelli that the Briton can no longer explain away as external misfortune.
