Norris laughs off Red Bull sticky tape 'side quests'

MEXICO CITY -- Lando Norris has laughed off Red Bull's attempts to remove tape from the pit wall that he was using as a visual aid to ensure his car was not too far forward in its grid slot.

At the U.S. Grand Prix, the FIA handed Red Bull a €50,000 fine, half of which has been suspended, after one of its mechanics attempted to re-enter the grid once the formationI lap had started to remove the tape.

Norris has been using tape on the pit wall as a back-up to markings on the grid itself to ensure he does not incur a penalty for starting too far forward.

Although Red Bull's fine was issued for re-entering the gate area of the pit wall against the instruction of marshals -- and not for the attempted removal of the tape itself -- the story has gathered momentum ahead of this weekend's Mexican Grand Prix.

Norris compared the actions of the mechanics to "side quests" in the title fight between the McLaren drivers and Red Bull's Max Verstappen, saying it made no difference to his start in Austin as he only ever uses the tape as a back-up.

"Yeah, good job by them," Norris said when asked about the actions of Red Bull. "Yeah, because they can [do it under the regulations].

"But it didn't matter, I didn't use the tape, so it was extra amusing, because I didn't need it.

"We just put it there in case. Yeah, so it made it extra funny, because they got a penalty for it and I didn't even need it. They also tried to remove it and failed, because we made it special, so they couldn't take it off even.

"So it was just amusing. Little side quests, I guess, for the teams to entertain themselves. But yeah, we were the ones laughing about it, I guess."

The British driver revealed that Red Bull mechanics have successfully removed the tape at previous races, leading McLaren to make cuts in the tape or add two layers to make it harder to remove in one piece.

"It's just a backup if I need it," Norris said. "I used it for a little while and they tried to remove it already, I think in Monza and a couple of other places. So that's why we kind of made it like the F1 car park passes that you can never get out the window ever, like that.

"So yeah, it was amusing to kind of try to see them taking it off and then not going to plan."

Norris said McLaren would continue to apply the tape, even though he more regularly uses a yellow line painted next to the grid box as a visual aid to line up his car.

"I'll continue to use it. Sometimes I'd never use it at all because it's almost too far away sometimes to do it. But most, I'd say 95% of the races now, I use the line on the grid.

"So I think that's why it was even better."

News of the Austin incident followed five races in which Red Bull's Verstappen has closed the gap to Norris and teammate Oscar Piastri in the title fight, adding further tension to the rivalry between the two teams.

When Verstappen was asked about the mechanic's actions, he pointed out that the fine was not issued for removing the tape but for being on the grid after he was instructed to leave.

"I guess in Austin it took a bit longer [to leave the grid] for whatever reason and, yeah, the gate closed, but I don't know if he was instructed or not in the right way to stay out of it.

"I think it's quite clear, right, how they explained it also to the stewards. So, I think that is quite understandable that you get fined for that.

"And it doesn't even have anything to do with the tape -- you can't hold up the procedure of closing the gate."