Red Bull admit ‘silly games’ with tape removal “got out of hand”
Red Bull admit they went too far in their attempt to remove tape used as a visual aid by Lando Norris.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has admitted his side went too far in their efforts to remove tape from Lando Norris’s race start grid spots.
Red Bull were hit with a €50,000 fine, half of which is suspended on the condition a repeat offence is avoided, after one of their team members entered the grid after the start of the formation lap ahead of last weekend’s United States Grand Prix.
This was during a failed attempt to remove tape from the pit wall that Norris was using as a visual aid to ensure his car was properly positioned in its grid slot.
It is not the first time this season that Red Bull have attempted to sabotage Norris’s starting procedure in a bid to gain a competitive advantage.
Although there are no rules forbidding such an action, or indeed using tape on the pit wall, Mekies has signalled an end to the “silly games”.
“I think there have been a bit of silly games being played for a few races between the teams and it probably got out of hand,” Mekies told Sky Sports F1. “Moving forward it will be more in control.”
Norris laughs off failed sabotage attempt
Norris, who finished second behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen last weekend in Austin, called the situation “amusing”.
The Briton revealed he did not even use the tape Red Bull attempted to remove.
"Good job by them because they can [do it]. But, it didn't matter,” Norris said.
"I didn't use the tape. So it was extra amusing because I didn't need it. We just put it there in case, so it made it extra funny because they got a penalty for it and I didn't even need it.
"They also tried to remove it and failed because we made it special, so they couldn't take it off either. So it was just amusing. Little side quests, I guess, for the teams to entertain themselves. But we were the ones laughing about it."
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