Red Bull Fined £43,000 for Grid Tape Interference ahead of US Grand Prix
AUSTIN, TEXAS – Red Bull Racing has been fined £43,000 ($55,000) by the FIA following an incident at the United States Grand Prix were a team member attempted to remove tape used by McLaren to aid Lando Norris’s grid positioning. The incident occurred after the formation lap had begun, and involved entering a restricted area of the track, deemed an “unsafe act” by race stewards.
The fine stems from a breach of regulations concerning unauthorized access to the “gate well area” - the space between the pit wall and the track – during a critical phase of the race start procedure.Teams often utilize a vertical strip of tape on the pit wall as a visual reference for drivers to accurately align their cars within their designated grid boxes, especially due to limited visibility from the cockpit. McLaren’s use of this tactic recently drew attention after Norris received a five-second penalty in bahrain for positioning his car slightly ahead of his grid slot.
While the regulations do not explicitly prohibit the use of such tape, nor do they prevent its removal, entering the gate well area after the formation lap has commenced is a safety violation. According to the FIA stewards’ report,the Red Bull team member involved “was not aware of the efforts of the marshals to stop him.”
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies described the incident as a “misunderstanding” following a hearing with FIA officials, which delayed the post-race press conference. It has been reported this is not the first instance of red Bull attempting to interfere with McLaren’s grid markers, prompting mclaren to explore alternative methods at the Austin race. The incident underscores the intense competition between the two teams, particularly as Max verstappen’s recent victories have increased pressure on McLaren in the championship standings, echoing rivalries seen in the 2007 season between Kimi Räikkönen and McLaren.
