Mercedes has stepped back from its bid to reopen George Russell’s Monaco Grand Prix penalty, leaving Formula 1’s latest FIA fight in the hands of rival teams.
The Silver Arrows had been due to take their case to the stewards on Saturday after Alpine succeeded in overturning Pierre Gasly’s pit-lane speeding penalties from the same race. Instead, Formula 1 confirmed on Thursday evening that Mercedes had withdrawn its Right of Review request over the decision relating to Russell’s car.
It is a sharp change of direction in a saga that had already stretched well beyond Monaco. ReadMotorsport had previously covered how Mercedes had secured an FIA hearing over Russell’s Monaco penalty fight, only for the team to decide that route was no longer worth pursuing.
Mercedes drops its review push
Russell’s race was wrecked after he was penalised for speeding in the pit lane and then given a drive-through for not serving the original sanction correctly. He eventually finished 12th, having been in contention for a far stronger result before the penalty sequence unfolded.
The complication was that Alpine later proved Gasly’s comparable penalty was founded on a timing issue, allowing the Frenchman to reclaim third place. That decision reshaped the Monaco result and sharpened frustration among teams whose drivers had already served penalties during the grand prix.
Mercedes’ withdrawal does not end the row. McLaren and Red Bull have already turned Gasly’s restored podium into a wider FIA appeal test, with both teams pursuing the sporting consequences of changing a result after other penalties had played out live in the race.
Monaco row still has a live edge
The immediate effect is that Russell’s lost Monaco points appear far less likely to be recovered through Mercedes’ own challenge. The broader question, however, remains unresolved: how Formula 1 should correct a proven timing or measurement error without creating a second unfairness for drivers who served penalties before the mistake was fully understood.
That has been the core issue since F1’s Monaco penalty dispute first escalated after Alpine’s successful appeal. Mercedes may now have decided the procedural path was too narrow, but the FIA still faces a difficult credibility test as McLaren and Red Bull continue.
For Russell, the decision leaves Monaco as another costly chapter in a season where Mercedes cannot afford points to slip away quietly. For the championship, it keeps the argument alive even after one of its biggest stakeholders has left the room.
