Red Bull’s pre-race rules breach at the United States Grand Prix involved a team member attempting to interfere with a reference marker McLaren placed on the pitwall next to Lando Norris’s grid slot.
McLaren has long used a strip of tape on the wall nearest to Norris as a visual marker for him when lining up in his grid box.
This typically involves McLaren positioning Norris’s car as far forward as possible in the grid box during the pre-race procedure, with the placement of the tape then adjusted to Norris’s preference.
Norris qualified second at the United States GP, and that grid position is on the inside of the track at the Circuit of The Americas.
It is also right next to the first gate in the pitwall – the opening whereby team personnel must vacate the grid.
After the formation lap had started on Sunday, a Red Bull team member re-entered this gate well area as the pit marshals started to close the gate and did not react when they tried to stop him.
The Race understands that the evidence available showed the team member reached onto the pitwall parallel to Norris’s grid slot.
While the resolution of the cameras does not allow for specific identification of what they were touching on the wall, The Race has been told by multiple sources that there is no question the target was the tape used for Norris’s grid reference.
Red Bull has interfered with the tape at recent races, too, and McLaren is understood to have changed its methods in the US to make it harder to remove.
There is nothing wrong with McLaren using tape or a visual marker on the wall at the side of the track as it is not governed by any regulation around the start procedure or the use of the grid box.
That also means it is not protected by the rules so another team interfering with it once it is there is legal, although whether it is in the spirit of competition would be open to interpretation.
And in the case of what happened in Austin, there was a specific rules breach connected to the act, with the concern being that the most extreme outcome is that the start has to be delayed.
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said ahead of the stewards’ decision being released: “It was felt that some time during the grid procedures, one of our guys had not followed the officials’ or some marshal’s instructions.
“We spoke with our people, they are very positive that they have followed 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.”
