Mercedes lodges a Right of Review over the Monaco GP result

"Yes, we've asked for a right of review because we just simply want to sit at the table when decisions are being made," Wolff told various media, including GPblog. The Mercedes team principal was then asked whether he regretted that his team did not take action immediately on Sunday evening. "No, I still think it's a long shot." This is because F1 drivers who have served their penalty during the race cannot have it reversed afterwards under the sporting regulations.

The issue began with Pierre Gasly’s penalty during the Monaco GP. The Alpine driver received two five-second time penalties after the race for speeding in the pit lane, dropping him from the podium to seventh place. Isack Hadjar subsequently inherited third place.

Last Friday, however, the FIA overturned that decision after a successful Right of Review by Alpine. The investigation found that the distance used to calculate speed in the pit lane was incorrect. As a result, multiple drivers were wrongly identified as exceeding the speed limit. Most had already served their penalty during the race, which meant it could no longer be challenged afterwards.

Among them was Russell. The Mercedes driver was running in fourth place during the race when he received a drive-through penalty for not correctly serving his earlier penalty for speeding in the pit lane. Russell ultimately dropped to twelfth place, missing out on fifteen points in the world championship battle with teammate Kimi Antonelli, who won the race.

During the procedure initiated by Alpine, it was established that drivers could legally cover a shorter distance in the pit lane than race control had initially assumed. Because speed is calculated based on the time taken to cover a certain distance, this led to incorrect conclusions. None of the drivers involved had actually exceeded 60 kilometers per hour. This conclusion can be considered new evidence for other Formula 1 teams, and Mercedes has therefore decided to take action.

Wolff had already indicated earlier this weekend that Mercedes had sought legal advice on the matter. Despite his doubts about the chances of success, the Austrian does not want to leave any avenue unexplored for Russell. "I don’t think so. But we definitely have to give it a go," he told Sky Sports.