Red Bull has been handed a €50,000 fine for a rules breach prior to the start of Formula 1’s United States Grand Prix.
Shortly after Max Verstappen took a dominant victory in Austin to put himself firmly into world championship contention, his team was summoned to see the stewards.
Red Bull was being looked at for an alleged breach of Article 12.2.1.i of the FIA International Sporting Code – which is a failure to follow the instructions of relevant officials.
The matter related to an incident that took place on the grid before the start of the race.
A Red Bull team member reentered the grid via a gate close to the second grid position (Lando Norris's) after the formation lap, despite pit marshals starting to close the access gate - something they said the team member "did not appear to react to".
The Red Bull team member said he wasn't aware of the marshals' efforts to stop him from accessing the grid.
However the stewards said "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.
They said "it must be considered as an unsafe act and therefore a significant penalty to the team is warranted".
Half of the €50,000 fine is suspended pending any further similar offence from Red Bull.
Verstappen’s victory in Austin has hauled him to within 40 points of world championship leader Oscar Piastri with five races to go.
