Lando Norris left 'laughing' at Red Bull after US GP grid tape incident

Lando Norris has revealed McLaren were left “laughing” at Red Bull following a failed attempt to remove a piece of Norris' reference tape at the US Grand Prix.

Red Bull was fined €50,000, €25,000 of which was suspended, due to a team member re-entering the track after the formation lap had started. 

The Red Bull employee in question sought to remove tape from the wall that McLaren had lined up with Norris' grid box to give him an extra aid to position his car before the start of the grand prix.

Norris, who ended the race from the Circuit of the Americas in second place, stated the incident left McLaren amused.

“Good job by them, because they can [do it],” Norris told media including RacingNews365. “I didn’t use the tape, so it was extra amusing because I didn't need it.

“We just put it there in case. It made it extra funny, because they got a penalty for it and I didn't even need it.

“They tried to remove it, and failed, because we made it special so they couldn't take it off.

“So it was just amusing. Little side quests for the teams to entertain themselves. We were the ones laughing about it.”

Norris stated Red Bull has tried to remove the tape at a handful of races this year, but detailed he will not stop using the reference in the coming rounds as the title fight enters its final stages.

“They tried to remove it already, I think at Monza and a couple of other places,” Norris said.

“It was amusing to try to see them taking it off and then not going to plan.

“I'll continue to use it. Sometimes I'd never use it at all because it's almost too far away. Sometimes I do, but  95 per cent of the races now, I use the line on the grid.”