Red Bull's pre-race rules breach - and 'significant penalty' - explained

Red Bull have been fined for a rules breach ahead of the United States Grand Prix.

The team have been fined €50,000, €25,000 of which is suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season on the condition there is no repeat offence.

The incident related to a Red Bull team member who "entered the gate well area in proximity of the second grid position" after the formation lap had commenced.

Following Max Verstappen’s dominant victory in Austin, the stewards announced that Red Bull have been called to a hearing over a potential breach of Article 12.2.1.i of the FIA International Sporting Code.

Why 'significant penalty' was warranted

"A team member re-entered the gate well area at Gate 1 in proximity of the second grid position after the formation lap had commenced and at the moment the pit marshals started to close the gate," the stewards explained in a statement.

"According to the report from the pit marshals the team member did not appear to react to their efforts to prevent him from entering the gate well area. The team representative stated during the hearing that the team member informed him that he was not aware of the efforts of the marshals to stop him.

"However, the Stewards determine that any person affiliated to a team or other stakeholders should be aware that entering the track or hindering the safety measures to prepare the track for the race after the grid has been cleared is absolutely prohibited.

"Thus, irrespective of whether or not the instructions of the relevant officials have been realised by the person concerned, hindering or delaying the process of closing the gates before the race start must be considered as an unsafe act and therefore a significant penalty to the team is warranted.

"In order to prevent any reoccurrence, a portion of the financial penalty is suspended."

Verstappen took a resounding third win in the past four races to increase the pressure on McLaren drivers Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the championship.

The four-time world champion has reduced his deficit to Piastri down to 14 points with five races remaining.

Verstappen also won the sprint race on Saturday to gain a total of 25 points on Piastri over the course of the Austin weekend.

When asked if he feels he is now in title contention, Verstappen said: “For sure, the chance is there.

“We just need to try and deliver these weekends until the end. We will try whatever we can. It's exciting and I'm very excited until the end."

Teammate Yuki Tsunoda finished seventh in the other Red Bull.