The Cadillac garage thought they had made history at Monaco. Sergio Perez crossed the line tenth and delivered the American team their first-ever points in Formula 1. The celebrations did not last. A ten-second post-race penalty for a restart infringement dropped Perez to fifteenth and erased the milestone completely. One of the most anticipated moments in Cadillac F1 history lasted less than an hour.
The penalty stemmed from Perez sitting outside the designated starting box at the red-flag restart. His front right wheel sat in an incorrect position and stewards applied ten seconds to his race time post-race.
Additionally, Perez had already received a drive-through penalty for pulling into the wrong grid slot at the original start. A reprimand for a practice infringement during the reconnaissance lap completed a miserable afternoon for the driver from the first moment to the last.
Consequently, the Cadillac F1 points that seemed secured slipped away with a single steward decision. Fernando Alonso inherited tenth place as a direct result, handing Aston Martin their first championship point of the 2026 season. Moreover, Cadillac’s other driver Valtteri Bottas had already retired early with brake failure.
The American team left Monaco empty-handed despite the brief and painful glimpse of a historic first score. Meanwhile, Pierre Gasly also fell victim to the stewards at Monaco. Two five-second penalties for pit lane speeding dropped him from third on the road to seventh in the final classification.
He exceeded the 60 km/h limit by just 0.1 km/h on one occasion and 0.4 km/h on the other. However, Alpine refused to accept the verdicts and immediately filed a formal Right of Review with the FIA.
Furthermore, Alpine argued the penalties were unjustified given the tiny margins involved. Gasly stated he engaged the pit limiter correctly before the line. Alpine also pointed to similar marginal penalties hitting several other drivers, suggesting a possible measurement issue in the Monaco pit lane.
The Right of Review is still pending and Gasly remains classified seventh until the FIA issues a ruling. In contrast, Red Bull and Isack Hadjar emerged from the post-race process with positive news. Hadjar faced an investigation after mechanics performed work on his car during the red-flag suspension.
Crucially, the stewards confirmed that the team had returned the car to its original condition without making any changes, and they took no further action. His third-place finish is confirmed and the Cadillac F1 points loss remains the defining penalty story of the Monaco weekend.
As a result, the final standings shifted significantly from what drivers and teams had celebrated on the circuit. Monaco 2026 gave Cadillac in Formula One a brief glimpse of their first points before the stewards’ paperwork shattered that hope.
