Red Bull’s tape gate: Mekies pledges 'control' after McLaren drama
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies has assured that future gamesmanship involving his team and McLaren will be kept under control.
“We’ll make sure that it doesn’t go too far next time. I’m sure we’ll keep it under control.”- Laurent Mekies
The 48-year-old, reflecting on the tape incident that stole the spotlight in the aftermath of the United States Grand Prix, via The Athletic, revealed it is such a tactic entrenched in the history of Formula 1, before emphasising that such gamesmanship will be kept under control in future instances.
“I think it’s fair to say there have been quite a few silly games played by both teams in the last little while,” Mekies said.
“On one side, you can probably say that (such tactics are) part of F1 history, known or less well known. But it’s equally fair to say that we acknowledge that it got out of hand, and we’ll make sure that it doesn’t go too far next time. I’m sure we’ll keep it under control.”
In the aftermath of the race at the Circuit of the Americas, the Red Bull Racing team was handed a €50,000 fine after the FIA stated that a member of the team had entered the area of Gate 1 after the formation lap.
It was later revealed that staff from the Milton Keynes team attempted to remove a tape placed on the wall by the McLaren team, which Lando Norris used to hit his mark in the grid box ahead of the start of the race.
Norris finds Red Bull tape incident funny
Norris found humour in the tape incident involving the Red Bull team at the Austin race. The McLaren driver labelled the incident amusing while stressing he did not need the tape to hit his grid box.
The British driver concluded by dubbing the incident a “little side quest” for the teams who found entertainment in such theatrics.
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