Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies says his team will end “silly matches” with rival McLaren that ultimately led to a fine ahead of this week’s Mexico Grand Prix.
Red Bull was fined just over $58,000 after one of its team members attempted to remove a piece of tape after the start of the formation lap at the United States Grand Prix last Sunday. Half of the fine has been suspended as long as there are no repeat infractions, but Mekies said the back-and-forth with McLaren this season had “gone too far”.
The stripe is a visual aid used to assist drivers in their attempt to line up perfectly in their grid position. McLaren’s Lando Norris was penalized during April’s race in Bahrain for being too far forward in his grid before the start.
Red Bull had removed the tape several times, according to a report from The Athletic, which is legal under Formula 1’s sporting regulations. McLaren had begun using a type of tape that was harder to remove, and a fine was issued to the Red Bull team member entering a prohibited area after the start of the formation lap.
“I think it’s fair to say there have been quite a few silly games played by both teams lately,” Mekies told The Athletic.
“On the one hand, you can probably say that (such tactics are) part of F1 history, both well-known and less well-known. But it’s equally fair to say that we recognize that this has gotten out of hand, and we will make sure that it doesn’t go too far next time.”
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen, who was on pole in Austin, won 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 40 points ahead of Verstappen, who has closed the gap by winning three of the last four races.
With just five races remaining, every grid position is critical, but Mekies said Red Bull would “keep it under control” when asked if there would be future attempts to remove the grid strip.
Asked about the tactic Thursday, Norris said he found it “amusing,” adding that he didn’t use the tape in Austin.
“It was just fun little side quests, I guess, to keep the teams entertained,” Norris said. “But we were the ones who laughed about it.”
–Field level media
