Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies said his team will curtail the “silly games” with rival McLaren that ultimately led to a fine ahead of this week’s Mexico City Grand Prix.
Red Bull was fined just more than $58,000 after one of its team members tried to remove a piece of grid tape following the start of the formation lap at last Sunday’s United States Grand Prix. Half of the fine was suspended as long as there are no repeat breaches, but Mekies said the back-and-forth with McLaren this season had “gone too far.”
The tape is a visual aid used to help drivers in their attempt to line up perfectly in their grid position. McLaren’s Lando Norris was penalized at April’s race in Bahrain for being too far forward in his grid box ahead of the start.
Red Bull had removed the tape on previous occasions, according to a report by The Athletic, which is legal under Formula 1’s sporting regulations. McLaren had begun using a type of tape that is more difficult to remove, and the fine was assessed for the Red Bull team member entering a prohibited area after the formation lap had begun.
“I think it’s fair to say there have been quite a few silly games played by both teams in the last little while,” Mekies told The Athletic.
“On one side, you can probably say that (such tactics are) part of F1 history, known or less well known. But it’s equally fair to say that we acknowledge that it got out of hand, and we’ll make sure that it doesn’t go too far next time.”
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who was on the pole in Austin, went on to win the race with Norris finishing second. Heading into this weekend’s race in Mexico, McLaren’s Oscar Piastri holds a 14-point lead over Norris and a 40-point cushion over Verstappen, who has closed the gap by winning three of the past four races.
With only five races remaining, every position on the grid is critical, but Mekies said Red Bull will “keep it under control” when asked if there would be future attempts to remove grid tape.
Asked about the tactic on Thursday, Norris said he found it “amusing,” adding that he didn’t utilize the tape in Austin.
“It was just amusing, little side quests, I guess, for the teams to entertain themselves,” Norris said. “But we were the ones laughing about it.”
–Field Level Media
