Red Bull fined for grid-lane breach after US Grand Prix, half suspended
Red Bull has been hit with a €50,000 fine — half of it suspended — after a post‑race investigation found a team mechanic re-entered the “gate well” by the grid once the formation lap was underway at the United States Grand Prix. Stewards labelled it an “unsafe act” and said the breach merited a “significant penalty.”
In their decision, officials said the team member stepped back into the Gate 1 area near the second grid box just as marshals were moving to close the barrier. According to the marshals’ report, the individual didn’t respond to their attempts to stop him entering the space. Red Bull told the panel the mechanic believed he’d complied with instructions; the stewards were unmoved.
Their stance was plain: once the grid is cleared and the start procedures are in motion, no one affiliated with a team should enter the trackside gate wells or hinder marshals from securing the area. Whether or not the person noticed the officials’ instructions was deemed irrelevant.
As a result, Red Bull must pay €25,000 now, with a further €25,000 suspended until the end of the season provided there are no similar incidents. It’s a financial rap on the knuckles rather than a sporting one, but the message is unmistakable. The gate wells are there to get people out and keep them out when the grid goes live.
Team principal Laurent Mekies accepted the scrutiny but suggested there’d been crossed wires. “We fully respect the stewards,” he told media after the race. “It was felt that during the grid procedures, one of our guys had not followed marshal instructions. We spoke to our people — they’re adamant they followed guidance at all times. It’s probably a misunderstanding. We can do better, but we don’t feel we ignored any instruction.”
The penalty didn’t touch the result. Max Verstappen dominated in Austin, slicing Oscar Piastri’s championship lead to 40 points and keeping Red Bull in play for second place in the Constructors’ standings as the run-in gathers pace. On a weekend where the team’s execution looked razor‑sharp on track, it’s a reminder that the sport’s safety margins are unforgiving — and that grid discipline is under the microscope.
If there’s a takeaway for the paddock, it’s this: in 2025, stewards are in no mood to give latitude on movement in live zones. The suspended half of the fine reads like a warning shot, not just to Red Bull but to everyone juggling frantic last‑minute prep with the hard stop of formation‑lap protocol. Expect teams to re-brief mechanics before the next start sequence.
Elsewhere in the post‑race paperwork, Carlos Sainz picked up a separate penalty after an incident with Kimi Antonelli — another sign the officials were busy long after the fireworks. But the headline belongs to Red Bull: a clean sweep on Sunday, a small but pointed bill on Monday, and a lingering note from Race Control that the start grid isn’t a grey area.
