Red Bull F1 hit with unusual penalty after Max Verstappen win at US Grand Prix

Formula 1

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

A small error had costly repercussions for Red Bull

By Sheona Mountford.

Monday 20 October 2025 17:02

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.

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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.

What is Red Bull's punishment?

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.

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