Red Bull fined after trying to remove Norris grid tape

Red Bull were fined 50, 000 euros (£43, 500) for a team member’s attempt to remove the tape that marked Lando Norris’ grid position for the US Grand Prix.

The fine was suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season, with the condition that it never happens again.

The Red Bull employee, according to the FIA, had ignored marshals’ instructions to “prevent him from entering the gate well area.”

The team member was in violation of the rules because he shouldn’t have been where he was at the time, so removing a rival’s tape marker is not against the rules.

According to a source, Red Bull did this to a rival team before other races, which is typically their closest competitor’s last race, and McLaren were using stronger tape this time to stop it.

After the formation lap had begun, the Red Bull team member was able to return to where he was thanks to the difficulty of getting the tape off.

The Race first reported the incident, and BBC Sport has verified it.

McLaren inquired with the FIA about using tape to mark their grid positions in this manner at the start of the season.

If a car is placed incorrectly on the grid, drivers are punished. Because drivers can’t see the lines on the track marking their grid box, they are putting tape on the wall next to the track to help them do this.

A Red Bull representative at the hearing called to look into the situation claimed in a stewards’ report that the team member in question had “informed him that he was not aware of the efforts of the marshals to stop him.”

The stewards stated further that it is “absolutely prohibited” to enter the track or interfere with the safety measures used to prepare the track for the race after the grid has been cleared.

Therefore, preventing or putting off the closing of the gates before the race starts must be seen as an unsafe action and a significant fine is appropriate regardless of whether the relevant officials’ instructions have been met by the person concerned.

Red Bull and McLaren both declined to comment.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said he thought the incident was “a misunderstanding” before the facts were revealed and the jury had rendered their verdict.

We went to the FIA’s video, he continued, “We went.” Yes, we can improve this in the future, but on our end, we don’t feel like we’ve broken any rules or received any particular ones.