Lando Norris and Max Verstappen both laughed off the catalyst for a major fine handed to Red Bull after the American Grand Prix, ahead of this weekend’s race in Mexico City.
Red Bull was fined €50,000 ($58,000), of which €25,000 ($29,000) was suspended for the rest of the season, because one of the team members entered the area around a pit wall gate after the formation lap had started. It has since emerged that the team member attempted to remove a sticker from the pit wall that had been placed there by McLaren to help Norris position his car for the start of the race, which was not against the regulations.
“Good job,” said Norris. “Because I can. But it didn’t matter – I didn’t use the tape, so it was extra funny because I didn’t need it. We just put it there just in case. So it made it extra funny because they got fined for it and I didn’t even need it.”
“They tried to remove it too, but they failed, because we made it special so they couldn’t even remove it. So it was just funny – little side quests, I guess, for the teams to entertain themselves. But we were the ones laughing about it, I guess.
“I didn’t use it at all because I was just using the line on the grid. I said I’d use it in case I’m sitting a little bit to the right or something and you can’t see the line. It’s just a backup if I need it.”
“I’ve been using it for a while and they’ve already tried to remove it, I think in Monza and a few other places. So we’ve turned it into a kind of F1 passes, which you can never get rid of. [car] window ever, so!
“So it was funny to see them try to take it off and then it not go to plan. So I will continue to use it. Sometimes I would never use it at all because sometimes it’s almost too far away to do. But most, now 95% of the races, I use the line on the grid. I think that’s what made it even better.”
Verstappen said he has no problem with drivers having different ways of seeing their grid position, but that he also agrees with the core reason for Red Bull’s penalty.
“Well, you see, there’s a yellow line in the grid box – look at that!” said Verstappen. “So you just park your car. It doesn’t really matter where you start. But some people have different practices and I understand that.”
“I think in Austin it took a little bit longer for whatever reason and the gate was closed. Whether or not he was properly instructed to stay out, I think it’s pretty clear how they explained it. [from] the stewards. So I think it’s very understandable that you get a fine for that.
“And it doesn’t even have anything to do with the tape. You can’t stop the gate closing process.”
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