Red Bull fined for ‘tape-gate’ grid incident with McLaren

Red Bull’s post-race celebrations in Austin were briefly interrupted when the team was summoned to the stewards over an unusual grid-lane incident, a case that has since been dubbed “tape-gate.”

Following Max Verstappen’s dominant United States GP victory, the FIA fined Red Bull €50,000 (with half suspended) after determining that a team member had re-entered the grid area “after the formation lap had commenced,” ignoring marshals’ efforts to close the gate.

The stewards’ report described the action as “an unsafe act” but imposed only a financial penalty, noting that no sporting advantage had been gained.

The official document did not specify what the team member was doing, but reports from Sky Italia and L’Equipe claimed the mechanic had attempted to remove orange marker tape McLaren had applied to the grid to help Lando Norris locate his starting box.

“Nothing prohibits it, for now, in the regulations,” L’Equipe wrote, “even if McLaren has since reinforced its markings, suggesting the manoeuvre has already been attempted before. It was not the act itself that was punished, but the fact he re-entered the track when it was forbidden.”

Austria’s Kleine Zeitung added that Red Bull has been suspected of removing rivals’ grid markers “several times in the past,” prompting McLaren to use stronger adhesive, a detail that fuelled social-media accusations of gamesmanship.

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies called the situation “a misunderstanding” after reviewing the footage with FIA officials.

“It’s something we can do better in the future,” Mekies said. “But on our side, we don’t feel we ignored any instructions, and we didn’t receive any specific warning at the time. It’s a very small thing, but nonetheless something we’ll address.”

Auto Motor und Sport reported that the stewards’ hearing delayed Red Bull’s celebrations, though Mekies remained calm afterwards.

“We reviewed the incident together with the FIA, and we must ensure that we do better in the future,” he said.

Neither Red Bull nor McLaren has publicly commented, though British outlets suggest McLaren raised the matter with officials immediately after the race.