After the United States Grand Prix in Austin Red Bull was fined €50,000, of which €25,000 was suspended pending good behaviour, when a crew member attempted to access the grid during the formation lap.
The purpose of the visit was to remove a strip of tape left by McLaren to help Lando Norris position his car at the very front of his grid slot.
It was known that a certain level of gamesmanship had been in progress between the two teams and that this was not the first time Red Bull had attempted to interfere with Norris’s markers.
Autosport understands that McLaren had taken a number of steps to counteract the sabotage, the latest of which was to use tape impregnated with material which would leave a mark even when the tape was removed. In Singapore it had left a mark under the tape, along with the words “better luck next time”.
The rules do not forbid teams from adding markers to trackside furniture for these purposes, and neither do they bar other teams from removing them. Red Bull’s fine was for its crew member ignoring the instructions of marshals who were trying to close the gate in the pitwall.
Afterwards the incident excited much comment in the fan space. There were those who wondered why a driver with world championship ambitions would require help in parking their car.
Starting grid
Photo by: Sam Bloxham / LAT Images via Getty Images
Aerodynamics dictate that in a modern F1 car the driver sits in a recumbent position with their feet almost at eye level. In his autobiography Adrian Newey, who was the first to push to this extreme in his 1996 championship-winning FW18, likened it to lying in the bath with your feet on the taps.
This naturally gives a restricted field of vision once the driver is strapped in, exacerbated by the presence of impact structures and the halo. So Norris is not alone in looking for additional reference points to ensure they line up precisely in the ‘box’ – it’s understood that this became a priority after the Bahrain Grand Prix, where he slightly overshot.
“I’m lucky to have a very nice line of reference in my car [the mounting fixtures for the mirrors on the sidepod] that helps me line up,” said Carlos Sainz.
“But I’ve been in cars before that don’t have this possibility and you need the tape in the wall to align yourself with the grid slot. So it completely depends. But yeah, I do know if I was the Red Bull team principal what I would do for someone who tried to do that…”
“I think it’s different from car to car, how easy it is to see your grid box because it depends on the side impact structure and how high and forward it is,” said Nico Hulkenberg.
“It’s not easy with this generation of cars, I think for anyone. Personally, I don’t use a tape. I just, the last moment I see it [the yellow line], then I just judge where I think it is, sometimes better, sometimes worse, but I haven’t overstepped it yet. But it’s a challenge with these generation of cars for sure.”
Grid markings
Photo by: Ryan Pierse / Getty Images
The McLaren grid procedure involves rolling the car as close to the maximum permitted point within the yellow lines and then marking the spot. Other drivers say they scan the grid for potential reference points while performing their start simulations at the end of practice sessions, then make a definitive decision on the pre-grid to be “roughly” (in the words of Andrea Kimi Antonelli) in the right place.
But when a world championship is on the line, “roughly” is another potentially random element which can be controlled – and there are competitive advantages to lining up as far forward in the box as possible.
“In F2 and every other category, it’s really easy to tell where your front tyre is in relation to the yellow line,” said Oliver Bearman.
“But now we have so many aero devices on the car, and the car is not made for looking at the yellow line – the car is made to go around the track as fast as possible. And actually when we bought the upgrade on the [Haas] car, a few geometry things changed, and now I can see the yellow line even less.
“So if the car being faster means you can see the yellow line less, then I guess McLaren, they don’t see it at all…”
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– The Autosport.com Team
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