Alpine in hot water as FIA flags Gasly car-cover breach after Monza qualifying
Alpine’s Saturday at Monza went from grim to worse. Pierre Gasly qualified a lowly 19th for the Italian Grand Prix, and a few hours later the FIA flagged the team for a rare parc fermé breach after the Frenchman’s A525 was left uncovered beyond the permitted window.
Formula 1 technical delegate Jo Bauer reported the issue in his post-qualifying notes, confirming the matter has been sent to the stewards. The reference was blunt and to the point: “The BWT Alpine Formula One Team did not cover car number 10 two hours after the chequered of the third qualifying session. As this is not in compliance with Article 40.6 of the 2025 Formula One Sporting Regulations, I am referring this matter to the Stewards for their consideration.”
While the regulation isn’t one that lights up the grandstands, it’s there for a reason. Once qualifying ends and the cars enter parc fermé, teams are tightly restricted in what they can touch, tweak or even expose. Covers go on, screens go up, and prying eyes are kept out. Monza, with its low-downforce setups and skinny wings, is a magnet for photographers and rivals looking for a peek; leaving a car uncovered well past the cut-off is unusual, and it’s exactly the kind of administrative slip the FIA doesn’t ignore.
What happens next sits with the stewards. Sanctions for procedural breaches like this typically range from reprimands or fines to, in more severe interpretations, sporting penalties. Context matters—intent, benefit gained, and timing all come into play—and we’ve seen this type of infraction dealt with in different ways over the years. For Alpine, it’s an unwelcome variable on a day that already left them on the back foot.
On-track, Gasly’s lap left him 19th in Q1, outpaced by team-mate Franco Colapinto. It’s a tough place to start at Monza, even with the slipstream games and strategy on offer, and the last thing Gasly needed was an off-track headache stacking on top.
As ever with stewards’ referrals, we’ll get clarity once the hearing is done and the decision is published. For now, Alpine will be hoping this remains a line on the fines sheet rather than anything that puts more holes in a difficult weekend.
