The title fight was blown open on the first lap of the United States Grand Prix sprint as Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were both taken out of the race. The McLaren duo were scrapping over second place when contact from Nico Hulkenberg set off a costly chain reaction.
Piastri got the better start and had the opportunity to launch a move around the outside, but Norris dived in deep at Turn One, shutting the door. In reaction, the Australian braked and attempted to pull off a switch-back move, but unfortunately, Hulkenberg’s Sauber was already on the inside.
The German made contact with his right-front tyre, sending Piastri cannoning into the path of his team-mate. The championship leader then tagged Norris into a spin as both McLaren cars went around. On the inside, Fernando Alonso also picked up significant damage.
The result for McLaren was a disastrous one. Both cars were unable to complete the opening lap, and Piastri’s race engineer, Tom Stallard, came on the radio to raise potential suspension damage, a nightmare ahead of qualifying later in the day.
Quizzed by Sky Sports F1, Zak Brown placed the blame fully on Hulkenberg’s shoulders. “That was terrible,” he declared to Martin Brundle and David Croft. “Neither of our drivers were to blame there.
“That was some amateur hour driving from some of the drivers up there at the front and wiped our two guys. I want to see the replay again but, clearly, Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was and went into his left-rear tyre.”
According to Brundle, the double DNF will have a knock-on effect on McLaren‘s preparations for Sunday’s Grand Prix. “McLaren will now learn nothing about tyre degradation, ride height and skid blocks,” he said. “All things you could do with learning for tomorrow’s race.”
Meanwhile, out front, Max Verstappen was allowed to scamper off. The Dutchman enjoyed an exceptional start to the sprint and, after fending off an ambitious overtake attempt from George Russell at Turn 12, checked out at the head of the field.
The victory represented an eight-point gain relative to both Piastri and Norris for the reigning champion. With Sunday’s Grand Prix points still to be dished out, Verstappen is now only 55 points behind as he continues to wreak havoc on the Drivers’ Championship title fight.
