Mercedes explain Monaco F1 right of review withdrawal

Mercedes has explained its decision to withdraw its request to review George Russell's penalties at the Monaco Grand Prix. 

The spectre of the Monte Carlo race hung over last weekend's Barcelona event, after Pierre Gasly saw his penalties for pit lane speeding overturned after FOM conceded its measurements for determining this misdeed were out by 77cm. 

As Gasly had not served his penalties during the race, it was possible for Alpine to successfully appeal these, which was not the case for others who had taken the hit during a pit stop and, in most cases, had lost positions as a result.

Russell was the worst affected, after a failure to properly serve the penalty resulted in a further drive-through sanction, which dropped him out of the points. 

As Red Bull and McLaren launched appeals against the race result - both believing their respective drivers, Isack Hadjar and Oscar Piastri, have a claim to the third podium step, which was claimed by Gasly after Alpine's initial appeal - Mercedes launched more targeted action, specifically requesting a review of the action taken against Russell, with team boss Toto Wolff conceding at the time that there was only a slim prospect of a positive outcome, while stressing action had to be taken “for George’s benefit”.

After official documentation confirmed on Thursday night that Mercedes had now backed out of this review process, the championship-leading team has explained 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"We can confirm that we have withdrawn our Right of Review submission relating to the penalties received and served by George Russell during the Monaco Grand Prix," said a Mercedes spokesperson. 

"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concluded that further pursuit of our Right of Review application will not serve our team or the sport and thus we have withdrawn our submission."