Gasly opens up on emotional agony after brutal Monaco GP podium blow

The Alpine driver reflected on the penalties that ultimately stripped him of a podium finish, admitting it was an emotionally draining experience to process. During the Monaco Grand Prix, Gasly was among several drivers penalised for exceeding the pit lane’s 60 km/h speed limit. The 30-year-old was found to have committed the offence on two separate occasions, resulting in two five-second penalties that demoted him from third at the chequered flag to seventh in the final classification.

Speaking to GPblog and other media outlets at the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona about coping with the aftermath, 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 sporting career. You know, I'm talking about sporting matters, not like personal things in 2019, 2020, etc. So in sporting terms, I would say it was definitely the hardest to deal with, because we were performing so strongly,” he explained.

Further stressing why the podium miss was particularly a difficult one to take, Gasly continued:

“You know, if you drive a car that gives you the possibility to fight for the podium every other weekend, it’s likely different. You move on quickly, come here, fight for the podium, eventually the win. It's a bit different in my career, not being in a position to have that kind of car yet. So I know when the chance is there, it might be once a year, might be once every two years, might be two or three times a year, but once it's there, I want to make sure that I'm the one grabbing it. And this was a special place with a special result. It was definitely the toughest moment, which also made me learn about myself and how to cope with that. But it wasn't a nice moment,” he concluded.

Amid the controversy that surrounded the podium incident involving Gasly in Monaco, the Alpine outfit have exercised their right to a review of the incidents. The FIA have scheduled Thursday, 11 June for the review of the incident, with new evidence to argue their case for the podium.

In any case, if Gasly and the Alpine team’s appeal is successful and Gasly’s podium is reinstated, it would mark the team’s first podium finish since the 2024 Brazilian Grand Prix.