Red Bull has been fined by Formula 1’s governing body after being exposed for an apparent act of sabotage.
Red Bull was summoned to front a stewards hearing as the team continued to celebrate Max Verstappen’s masterclass victory in Monday morning’s United States Grand Prix in Texas.
It took more than two hours before the FIA (Formula 1’s governing body) announced Red Bull had breached rules before the race even began.
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The team has been fined €50,000 after it was noted that a Red Bull team member exited and then returned to the track after cars had already begun the formation lap before the start of the race.
Stewards found that a Red Bull team member had ignored orders from marshals not to re-enter the track.
Half of the financial penalty has been suspended until the end of the year — if no further infringements are recorded.
In an extraordinary twist, reports have now emerged about the reason the Red Bull employee re-entered the track.
As confirmed by the BBC, the employee proceeded to remove taping which was being used by Lando Norris as a marker to judge where he needed to park his McLaren in his starting box before the start of the race.
Red Bull staff celebrate Max Verstappen’s win. Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images.Source: Getty ImagesMax Verstappen stands on the podium. Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)Source: AFP
The Race reports, McLaren had used tape on the side of the wall nearest to Norris to help him position his car as close as possible to the front of the grid box, where he was positioned on the front row alongside pole-sitter Verstappen.
McLaren has made a habit of using tape on the side of the barriers to help Norris line his McLaren up. Drivers are punished for exceeding the limits of the starting block.
According to the BBC, it is also not the first time Red Bull officials have attempted to remove the taping signage used by their F1 rivals.
McLaren is reported to have been granted permission by the FIA at the start of the season to use tape markings, with F1 officials ruling the use of signage is outside the governing body’s jurisdiction.
For this reason, the use of signage markers is also unprotected by FIA rules, allowing Red Bull officials to remove the tape without any rules being breached.
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It is the wild west, and Monday’s hearing has exposed the shadow game being played out between the rival garages.
Red Bull is only being punished for the rogue employee’s decision to re-enter the track, not for removing the tape.
The stewards said: “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.
“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.
Lando Norris, front, right, started alongside Max Verstappen. Photo by Mark Thompson / GETTY IMAGES.Source: AFP
“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.”
Red Bull and McLaren have not yet made any public comment about the rule breach ruling.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies did make a comment before the verdict was announced.
“It was felt that some time during the grid procedures, one of our guys had not followed the officials’ or some marshal’s instructions,” he said.
“We spoke with our people, they are very positive that they have followed the marshals’ instructions at all times. So I think it’s probably a misunderstanding there.
“We went to see the video with the FIA and for sure it’s something we can do better in the future, but certainly on our side, we do not feel that we have ignored an instruction, so I think it’s a very small thing.
“But nonetheless, something we address in the future.”