The FIA has confirmed that Mercedes has dropped its Right of Review appeal into the reinstatement of Alpine’s third place at the Formula 1 Monaco Grand Prix.
The fallout over the result of the Monaco GP, caused by Pierre Gasly’s reinstatement to third place, caused the Silver Arrows to take action.
Mercedes announced earlier this week that it was initiating the Right of Review process regarding the penalties for George Russell incurred during the race.
The first for pit lane speeding was awarded to multiple drivers due to a timing loop error discovered by the system managed by FOM, the second for Mercedes failing to serve the former correctly, leading to a drive-through penalty, dropping him to to 14th.
While Alpine’s two five-second penalties were added on after the race, giving them cause to appeal, Mercedes’ were awarded while the race was still underway, meaning the team’s chances of overturning the decision by the stewards were slim at best.
A first hearing for Mercedes to present its evidence was scheduled for Saturday, June 20th, but in a statement released on Thursday evening, the FIA confirmed that Mercedes had withdrawn its petition instigating the Right of Appeal process.
The full statement from the stewards read:
“The Stewards have been informed by Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team that they are withdrawing the petition for Review in respect of the decisions of the Stewards of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix, breach of Article B1.6.3a of the FIA F1 Regulations in relation to Car 63.”
Mercedes confirm it has dropped its appeal
In a statement on Friday morning, Mercedes outlined the reasoning for its decision.
“We can confirm that we have withdrawn our Right of Review submission relating to the penalties received and served by George Russell during the Monaco Grand Prix,” the statement read.
“Following the decision to rescind Pierre Gasly’s time penalty, it was important for us to explore all available options to address the impact of George’s pitlane speeding penalty on his race result.
“We had a limited time window in which to apply for the Right of Review during the race weekend in Barcelona, and did so in order to reserve our position in this regard.
“Our subsequent collaborative discussion with FIA and Formula One has shown their determination to review the unique circumstances arising from the Monaco Grand Prix and to proactively address the factors that caused them.
“In the face of this clear determination, we have concluded that further pursuit of our Right of Review application will not serve our team or the sport and thus we have withdrawn our submission.”
Mercedes dropping its review comes as no surprise, given that it lacked leverage to move past the initial stage.
However, it shows that competitors will continue to champion their causes, even if said cause may be a lost one.
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