Red Bull team principal Laurent Mequise has admitted that the team’s efforts to remove the tape from Lando Norris’ race start grid spot went too far.
Red Bull was fined 50,000 euros ahead of last weekend’s American Grand Prix, including a half-time suspension, with the condition that one of its team members enter the grid after the start of the formation lap, with the condition that they avoid repeat offenses.
This was when Norris unsuccessfully tried to remove the tape from the pit wall, which he was using as a visual aid to ensure his car was properly placed in the grid slot.
It’s not the first time this season that Red Bull have tried to interfere with Norris’ starting procedure to gain a competitive advantage.
Although there are no rules against such behavior or actually putting tape on pit walls, Mekies suggested an end to the “stupid game.”
“There was a bit of a silly game going on between the teams for a few races and I think it probably got out of hand,” Mekies told Sky Sports F1. “We’ll have more control going forward.”
Norris laughs at failed sabotage attempt
Norris, who finished second to Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in Austin last weekend, called the situation “funny”.
The Briton revealed he didn’t even use the tape that Red Bull tried to remove.
“They did well because they can (do it), but it didn’t matter,” Norris said.
“I didn’t use tape, so it was extra fun because we didn’t need it. We just put it there just in case and they got penalized for it, so it made it even more fun, and I didn’t need it.”
“They tried to take it off too, but they failed. We made it specifically so they couldn’t take it off either. So it was just funny. I think it was a little side quest for the team to entertain themselves. But we were the ones who laughed about it.”