The Austin Sprint got off to a spectacular start when the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – starting second and third respectively behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen – crashed after a collision in the first corner.
Replays showed championship leader Piastri entered Turn 1 cautiously before being caught by Nico Hulkenberg’s Kick Sauber behind, with the German making an impressive start yesterday with a fourth-place finish. This contact sent Piastri to his teammate and forced both championship contenders out of the sprint with the safety car brought into action.
“It was terrible, none of our drivers were to blame,” McLaren CEO Zak Brown said afterwards. “Amateur hour. Nico walked into Oscar.”
With Max Verstappen leading, the incident saw George Russell move up to second and Carlos Sainz third.
Watch the start of the Sprint in Austin using the video at the top of the page.
