Max Verstappen boosted his championship hopes with a victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the United States Grand Prix, as both McLaren drivers crashed out on the opening lap.
The win earned Verstappen eight points, cutting his deficit to championship leader Oscar Piastri to 55 points and narrowing the gap to Lando Norris to 33 points.
The drama unfolded at Turn 1 when Piastri, battling with teammate Norris, made contact with Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber and was sent into Norris. Piastri had made a strong start and was positioned on the outside of Norris heading into the corner, while Norris braked late to defend. As Piastri tried to cut back inside, he crossed the path of Hülkenberg, who was attempting an inside move on both McLarens.
The collision caused significant damage to both McLarens, forcing Piastri and Norris to retire immediately, while Hülkenberg fell to the back of the pack after losing his front wing.
Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin was also caught up in the opening-lap chaos and forced to retire alongside both McLarens.
The crash came just two weeks after Lando Norris was held responsible for contact with teammate Oscar Piastri at the Singapore Grand Prix — an incident that led McLaren to privately discipline Norris.
Speaking to Sky Sports after Saturday’s race, McLaren CEO Zak Brown placed the blame squarely on Nico Hülkenberg. “That was terrible — neither of our drivers were at fault,” Brown said. “It was some amateur-hour driving. Clearly, Nico drove into Oscar. He had no business being there.”
The FIA stewards chose not to investigate, consistent with their policy of generally overlooking first-lap incidents. A five-lap safety car followed to clear debris before Max Verstappen — who had made a clean start from pole — led the restart.
On Lap 8, Mercedes’ George Russell made an ambitious move on the inside of Verstappen at Turn 12 but forced both cars off track, remaining second. “You don’t get many chances with Max,” Russell said afterward. “I saw half an opening — probably too far back, but I had to try. P2 was still better than expected, and we scored good points.”
From there, Verstappen pulled away to build a two-second gap over Russell, maintaining the lead until the race finished under another late safety car.
“The start was strong,” Verstappen said post-race. “After the Turn 1 incident, it took a few laps to get the balance right after the safety car, but we managed it. Winning the sprint was the main thing. For tomorrow, though, we’ll need to be sharper in race trim if we want to compete with the McLarens — we didn’t really get to see their pace today.”
Carlos Sainz finished third for Williams, earning his second podium of the season after also placing in the top three at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix. “It was a solid race,” Sainz said. “We had good pace, kept the Ferraris behind, and brought home a P3 that feels great.”
Lewis Hamilton passed Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc for fourth, with Leclerc settling for fifth. Williams driver Alex Albon claimed sixth, followed by Yuki Tsunoda in seventh after climbing 11 positions in the first-corner mayhem. Andrea Kimi Antonelli was promoted to eighth when Oliver Bearman — who crossed the line in eighth — received a penalty for leaving the track and gaining an advantage.
The sprint concluded under a safety car after Lance Stroll collided with Esteban Ocon while attempting a pass at Turn 1. The crash, deemed entirely Stroll’s fault, eliminated both cars and will be reviewed by stewards after the race.
