Red Bull boss Laurent Mekies has admitted that gamesmanship tactics with Formula 1 title rivals McLaren overstepped boundaries at the United States Grand Prix.
Locked in a championship bid that is rapidly falling back into its hands, Red Bull attracted the ire of the FIA and divided wider opinion over its actions on the grid in Austin.
The governing body fined Red Bull after mechanics returned to the grid prior to the formation lap to remove tape installed by McLaren next to Lando Norris’ car to assist his start.
While the regulations permit such actions, the mechanics’ presence on the grid after the two-minute signal was not.
Mekies publicly acknowledged the sabotage in Mexico but showed no remorse, stating that the removal of the tape was “nothing to do with the FIA” fine.
However, the Frenchman admitted that the team had gone too far in its efforts to gain advantages over McLaren in recent races.
“I think it’s fair to say there have been quite a few silly games played by both teams in the last little while,” he told The Athletic.
Psychological gamesmanship likely to continue
Mekies defended the team’s actions, highlighting the precedent set in F1’s long history of off-track psychological battles complemented by race pressures and technical wars.
“On one side, you can probably say that (such tactics are) part of F1 history, known or less well known,” he surmised.
“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.”
Despite the team being caught out, he refused to rule out further instances of mechanics attempting to remove the tape, simply stating, “I’m sure we’ll keep it under control.”
Norris ridiculed Red Bull on Thursday in Mexico, revealing the botched sabotage did not affect his race start, despite losing out at the start to Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
READ MORE – Why Red Bull were slapped with a fine after the F1 US GP
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