Red Bull Racing was penalised at the Circuit of The Americas when a team member re-entered the track following the formation lap, during which time that person\u00a0attempted to interfere with a piece of tape that McLaren had affixed to pit wall as a grid position marker for Lando Norris.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the Mexico City Grand Prix, however, Norris has revealed one particularly \u201camusing\u201d detail: He didn\u2019t even use the tape to position himself on the grid.<\/p>\n
Lando Norris: Red Bull on \u201cside quest\u201d in Austin \u2018tapegate\u2019 saga<\/p>\n
The Red Bull Racing team received a\u00a0\u20ac50,000 fine<\/a> \u2014 half of which is suspended \u2014 for a breach of safety procedure ahead of the 2025 United States Grand Prix.<\/p>\n In that instance, a Red Bull team member re-entered the gate well area following the start of the formation lap, giving no response to the marshals who attempted to stop him during the process of closing the gate to bar further access.<\/p>\n It was revealed soon after that the Red Bull team member reached onto an area of the pit wall parallel to Lando Norris<\/a>\u2018 second-placed grid slot, where the McLaren<\/a> team had affixed a piece of tape designed to provide a \u201cbackup\u201d for Norris should the driver require additional assistance to position himself in his grid slot.<\/p>\n However, Norris revealed to media, including PlanetF1.com, in Mexico that he hadn\u2019t even needed to utilise the tape marking.<\/p>\n More McLaren news from the 2025 Mexico City Grand Prix:<\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0Oscar Piastri reveals McLaren repercussions after sprint clash with Lando Norris<\/a><\/p>\n \ud83d\udc49\u00a0McLaren holds thorough Oscar Piastri car checks ahead of Mexican Grand Prix<\/a><\/p>\n Asked to comment on the Red Bull tape saga, Norris said, \u201cGood job by them. They can [remove the tape].\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, the penalty that Red Bull sustained was for a breach of safety protocol: for re-entering the track following the start of the formation lap,\u00a0not for interfering with the tape.<\/p>\n It was all the same to Norris, though, as he revealed, \u201cI didn\u2019t mind; I didn\u2019t use the tape, so it was extra amusing because I didn\u2019t need it. We just put it there in case.<\/p>\n \u201c[That] made extra funny because they got a penalty for it and didn\u2019t even need it.<\/p>\n \u201cThey also tried to remove it and failed, because we made [it] special so they couldn\u2019t take it off even.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, McLaren has developed a unique form of tape that is particularly difficult to remove. The reason for that is because, as Norris revealed, Red Bull has been removing this tape for some time.<\/p>\n \u201cThey tried to remove it already in I think Monza and a couple other places, so that\u2019s why we made it like the F1 passes that you can never get out of the window, ever,\u201d the driver said, referring to the parking passes affixed to the windows of vehicles that allow certain cars access to the paddock and car parks around the track on a grand prix weekend.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was amusing to kind of try and see them taking it off and it not going to plan.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll continue to use it. Sometimes I never use it at all because it\u2019s almost too far away. Sometimes I do.<\/p>\n \u201cBut 95 per cent of the races now I use the line on the grid, so I think that\u2019s why it was even better.\u201d<\/p>\n Ultimately, Norris concluded that the incident was \u201cjust amusing.<\/p>\n \u201cLittle side quests, I guess, for the teams to entertain themselves.<\/p>\n \u201cBut yeah, we were the ones laughing about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Multiple drivers addressed the situation \u2014 which has become colloquially referred to as \u201ctapegate\u201d \u2014 throughout the duration of Mexico City\u2019s media day, including Max Verstappen.<\/p>\n Speaking of the on-track markers that allow drivers to situate themselves on the grid, Verstappen said, \u201cWell, you see there\u2019s a yellow line right the in the grid box. You look at that one so you just park your car. Doesn\u2019t matter where you start, really.<\/p>\n \u201cBut, yeah, some people have other practices, and I get that.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd also it took a bit longer for whatever reason that, yeah, the gate closed. If he was instructed or not in the right way to stay out of it; I think it\u2019s quite clear how they explained it, the stewards.<\/p>\n \u201cSo I think that is quite understandable then you get fined for that, and it doesn\u2019t even have anything to do with with the tape.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can\u2019t hold up the procedure of closing the gate.\u201d<\/p>\n The FIA stewards\u2019 verdict did not mention the tape, as it was not consequential to the application of the penalty.<\/p>\n The stewards\u2019 report read:\u00a0\u201cA 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 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.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, 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.<\/p>\n \u201cThus, irrespective of whether or not the instructions of the relevant officials have been realized 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.<\/p>\n \u201cIn order to prevent any reoccurrence, a portion of the financial penalty is suspended.\u201d<\/p>\n Red Bull Racing team principal Laurent Mekies told PlanetF1.com and other media outlets, \u201cWe fully respect the stewards.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was felt that some time during the grid procedures, one of our guys had not followed the officials or some marshal instructions.<\/p>\n \u201cWe spoke with our people. They are very positive that they have followed marshal instructions at all times, so I think it\u2019s probably a misunderstanding there.<\/p>\n \u201cFor sure, it\u2019s something we can do better in the future, but certainly on our side, we do not feel that we have ignored any instruction \u2013 we did not get any specific instructions.\u201d<\/p>\n Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp<\/a>\u00a0to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.<\/p>\n