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Lawrence Edmondson
Mexico City — lando norris Ridiculed Red Bull’s efforts to remove the tape from the pit wall, which he was using as a visual aid to ensure his car was not too far ahead in its grid slot.
At the US Grand Prix, the FIA fined Red Bull €50,000, half of which is suspended, after one of its mechanics attempted to re-enter the grid after the start of the formation lap for removing tape.
Norris is using tape on the pit wall as a back-up to the markings on the grid to ensure he doesn’t get a penalty for starting too far ahead.
Although Red Bull’s penalty was issued for re-entering the pit wall gate area against marshals’ instructions – and not for attempting to remove the tape – the story has gathered momentum ahead of this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix.
Norris compared the mechanics’ tasks to a “side quest” in the title battle between the McLaren drivers and Red Bull. max verstappenSaying that it didn’t make a difference to his debut in Austin as he only uses the tape as a backup.
Asked about Red Bull’s actions, Norris said, “Yeah, they’ve done a good job.” “Yes, because they can [do it under the regulations],
“But it didn’t matter, I didn’t use tape, so it was extra amusing, because I didn’t need to.
“We just put it there. Yeah, so that made it extra funny, because they got a fine for it and I didn’t even need to. They even tried to remove it and failed, because we made it special, so they couldn’t even remove it.
“So it was just entertaining. I guess there were little things to entertain the teams. But yeah, I think we were the only ones laughing about it.”
The British driver revealed that Red Bull mechanics had successfully removed the tape in previous races, causing McLaren to have to cut the tape or add two layers, making it harder to remove in one piece.
“It’s just a backup in case I need it,” Norris said. “I used it for a while and they tried to remove it already, I think at Monza and a few other places. That’s why we made it like the F1 car park pass that you can never get out the window, like that.
“So yeah, it was entertaining to watch them try to get it off and then not have a plan.”
Norris said that McLaren will continue to apply tape, even though he regularly uses the yellow line painted next to the grid box as a visual aid for lining up his car.
“I’ll continue to use it. Sometimes I never use it because sometimes it’s almost too far to do. But most of the time, I would say 95% of the races now, I use the line on the grid.
“So I think that’s why it was even better.”
News of the Austin incident comes after five races in which Red Bull’s Verstappen has closed the gap on Norris and teammate oscar piastri In the title match, the rivalry between the two teams became more tense.
When Verstappen was asked about the mechanic’s actions, he explained that the penalty was issued not for removing the tape but for remaining on the grid after being instructed to leave.
“I think it took a little longer in Austin [to leave the grid] For whatever reason and, yes, the gate was closed, but I don’t know if he was properly instructed to stay out of it.
“I think it’s quite clear, well, that’s how they explained it to the managers. So, I think it’s quite understandable that you would be fined for that.
“And it has nothing to do with tape either – you can’t stop the process of closing the gate.”
