FIA Hit Red Bull with Punishment Over Lando Norris US GP Incident

Red Bull had another excellent showing on the track on Sunday, with Max Verstappen winning the United States Grand Prix to close the gap on Oscar Piastri to just 40 points.

Reigning world champion Verstappen has won three out of the last four races and remains well in title contention with just five races to go.

He won from pole position at the Circuit of The Americas, having stormed to victory in Saturday's spring race.

Lando Norris took second, the same position of which he began the race - to move within 14 points of teammate Piastri after he finished fifth.

But there was controversy involving Red Bull and Norris before the race - which has now resulted in a FIA penalty for a rare and unusual rule breach.

Following the formation lap, it was found that a member of Red Bull had attempted to remove tape which was being used to guide Norris to his position.

An investigation was launched by the FIA following a report from the Race Director and concluded that a team member "re-entered the gate well area at Gate 1 in proximity of the second grid position".

Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies had initially said that the incident was "a misunderstanding" and that the team did not "feel that we have ignored any instructions".

However, a BBC report, citing a source, stated that Red Bull had done this before to a rival team and McLaren, who made a request to the FIA prior to the 2025 season, had been using "stronger tape".

The tape is used to ensure drivers are in the correct position on the track where visibility is limited.

FIA issue statement on Red Bull incident

Following a hearing where a Red Bull representative said the team member in question "was not aware of the efforts of the marshals to stop him", a fine of €50,000 was issued to Red Bull the pre-race breach.

Half of the fine is suspended for the remainder of the 2025 campaign providing the offence is not repeated.

Red Bull were found to be in breach of Articles 12.2.1.h and 12.2.1.i of the FIA International Sporting Code after video footage was reviewed.

A statement from the FIA read: "A team member re-entered the gate well area at Gate 1 in proximity of the second grid position after the formation lap had commenced and at the moment the pit marshals started to close the gate.

"According to the report from the pit marshals the team member did not appear to react to their efforts to prevent him from entering the gate well area.

"The team representative stated during the hearing that the team member informed him that he was not aware of the efforts of the marshals to stop him.

"However, the Stewards determine that 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.

"Thus, irrespective of whether or not the instructions of the relevant officials have been realized by the person concerned, hindering or delaying the process of closing the gates before the race start must be considered as an unsafe act and therefore a significant penalty to the team is warranted. In order to prevent any reoccurrence, a portion of the financial penalty is suspended."

F1 returns next weekend at the Mexican Grand Prix as the three-way race for the title heats up.