Red Bull hit with unusual penalty after win at US Grand Prix

Red Bull Racing were hit with an unusual penalty at the Circuit of the Americas on Sunday in the aftermath of F1 champion Max Verstappen's dominant United States Grand Prix victory.

Fortunately for fans of Verstappen, Red Bull's infraction was a wider team one, and related to an incident that occurred ahead of lights out on Sunday afternoon.

According to the race stewards, a Red Bull team member entered the gate well area at Gate 1 in proximity of the second grid position on the formation lap, which belonged to McLaren's Lando Norris, after the formation lap had commenced.

Reports from the pit marshal state that the Red Bull team member did not react to his efforts to prevent him from reaching the gate well area.

Multiple outlets, including Sky Sports News, claim that the Red Bull staff member was trying to remove tape stuck to the grid wall by McLaren to aid Norris' starting position. This, however, is unconfirmed.

READ MORE: F1 2025 Standings: How far is Verstappen behind Piastri and Norris after US Grand Prix?

What is Red Bull's punishment?

Despite the Red Bull team member in question maintaining that he was not aware of the marshal's effort to stop him, the stewards were having none of it.

They determined that any team member should be aware that entering the track or hindering the safety measures to prepare the track before a race, after the grid has been cleared, is prohibited.

Therefore, the stewards concluded that hindering or delaying the process of closing the gates before the race start must be considered as an unsafe act, and that a significant penalty to the team is warranted.

As a result, Red Bull have been fined €50,000, €25,000 of which is suspended for the remainder of the 2025 season on condition that there is no breach of a similar nature.

READ MORE: F1 announces HUGE decision on US Grand Prix future just hours ahead of COTA race

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