Red Bull fined for trying to remove Norris grid tape

Images courtesy of Getty

Andrew Benson

Austin F1 Correspondent

ago, one hour ago

Red Bull were fined 50, 000 euros 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.”

According to a source, Red Bull did this to a rival team before a race, and McLaren were using stronger tape to stop it from happening again.

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

ago, one hour ago
three hours ago

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.