Following the United States Grand Prix in Austin, Red Bull was fined €50,000, of which €25,000 was suspended for the remainder of the Formula 1 season, when a crew member tried to return to the grid against marshals’ instructions after the formation lap had begun.
It has been confirmed to Autosport by multiple sources that the purpose of the invasion was to remove a vertical strip of duct tape attached to the pitwall to aid Lando Norris in positioning his car at the front of his grid ‘box’. This part of the incident escaped the attention of the FOM TV cameras but is understood to have been captured by trackside CCTV.
The marker, at roughly the driver’s head height if the grid spot is adjacent to a wall, is usually placed while Norris is in the car on the grid, and its function is to provide a visual reference when he pulls up in the box after the formation lap – to avoid a repeat of the positioning error he made in this year’s Bahrain GP. The driver has such a restricted view of the track surface from the cockpit that it is difficult to see the markings on the grid itself.
The tape strip can be seen in the background of the image below, in the ‘S’ of the MSC Cruises ad hoarding to the left of the gate.
There is nothing in the regulations to prevent teams from placing markers in this way – equally, there is nothing to stop other competitors removing them, hence this aspect of the Red Bull team member’s behaviour did not form part of the official documentation. The offence was “Failure to follow the instructions of relevant officials”, in this case the marshals who were attempting to close the gate leading to the grid.
Access for personnel between the pitlane and the grid is made possible via several gates, essentially movable sections of the pitwall. These have to be moved back into place and secured after the grid is cleared following the formation lap, otherwise the race cannot start.
It is understood that, as described in the stewards’ document, the Red Bull team member attempted to re-enter the grid via Gate 1, which at COTA is adjacent to the second-placed grid spot which was to be occupied by Norris. They then failed to comply with the marshals’ attempts to prevent them from doing so.
Team principal Laurent Mekies’ usual post-race media briefing was delayed by 75 minutes and it is believed that this is a consequence of his attendance at the hearing. Speaking at this press conference – before the verdict was issued – Mekies said: “We fully respect the stewards.
“But just to tell you what I know, I think we were summoned because it was felt that some time during the grid procedures one of our guys had not followed the official, some marshal instructions. And we spoke with our people. They are very positive that they have followed marshal instructions at all times.
“So I think it’s probably a misunderstanding there. Again, 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 any instructions. We did not get any specific instructions. So I think it’s a very small thing but nonetheless something we will address in the future.”
Gamesmanship such as this is a well-established element of F1 competition, and it is understood that this is not the first time Red Bull has attempted to interfere with McLaren’s positional markers. But re-entering the grid after it has been cleared is an obvious breach of safety protocols.
“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,” said the statement from the stewards.
“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 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. In order to prevent any reoccurrence, a portion of the financial penalty is suspended.”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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