The Austin Sprint Race was marked by numerous incidents, most notably the opening-lap collision between the two McLaren drivers, forcing both Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri to retire. This mishap allowed Max Verstappen to close the gap in the championship standings. McLaren immediately pointed the finger at Nico Hulkenberg, accusing him of driving “like an amateur” in Turn 1.
Although it was only Saturday, the Austin weekend had already delivered dramatic twists—not for Verstappen’s sprint win, which was essentially guaranteed from the start, but for the McLaren collision that eliminated both Woking-based drivers and gave the four-time world champion a prime opportunity to gain additional points.
At the start, Verstappen got off the line well, defending the inside line and preventing Norris from challenging Turn 1, one of the few opportunities to alter the outcome. Attention then shifted behind him, where the two McLarens were engaged in a fierce battle for second place.
While resisting Piastri’s outside attack, Norris extended his braking into Turn 1, prompting Piastri to attempt a crossover move to out-accelerate his teammate on the exit. However, in the process, Piastri made contact with Nico Hulkenberg, triggering a chain reaction.
Piastri collided with Hulkenberg, launching into the air and striking Norris, who was positioned to his right and slowing down to defend against the first attack. Naturally, opinions were divided, but McLaren quickly blamed the Sauber driver.
“It was terrible. Our drivers did nothing wrong. Some people up front drove like amateurs and took out both of our drivers. I need to watch the replay, but it’s clear Nico [Hulkenberg] ended up on Oscar. He had no reason to be there,” said McLaren CEO Zak Brown to Sky Sports during the sprint race broadcast.
McLaren Team Principal Andrea Stella echoed the sentiment in a more measured tone: “We are disappointed not to have had the chance to race today. The Turn 1 incident put both cars out. It’s surprising that some very experienced drivers don’t exercise more caution.”
He added, “Just a little more caution would suffice: approach the first corner, avoid damaging others, and then continue. Overall, we are disappointed, but we take it on the chin. Now we focus on repairing the cars and preparing for the rest of the weekend.”
According to McLaren, Hulkenberg extended his braking too far in Turn 1, attempting to squeeze between Piastri and Fernando Alonso, who was on his inside, making contact with Piastri inevitable. Hulkenberg did try to slot in but was likely surprised by Piastri’s aggressive crossover, which involved very early braking, as Norris extended his line toward the apex.
With Alonso on the inside, Hulkenberg ran long without locking his tires, making the collision with Piastri unavoidable. In such situations, a safe margin is crucial, which was missing on this occasion.
“It’s clearly frustrating for me and them; it wasn’t nice to watch. But it’s part of racing, especially in a corner like that. I don’t think I made a mistake, but it happened,” Nico Hulkenberg explained, claiming no major error on his part. Race control reviewed the incident and ruled it a racing accident: all drivers could have acted differently to avoid it.
Lando Norris commented, clearing his teammate of blame: “I have no idea, I was hit. What else could I do? I need to review the footage, but I was just taken out. Piastri was also hit; it’s not only his fault, he was hit by another car.”
Piastri echoed Norris: “I haven’t seen the incident on TV yet, so I don’t know if I made a mistake. My start was good, and we both went wide in Turn 1. There’s a huge risk in that situation. I tried to cut inside and was hit. It’s not the best way to start the day, but I’ll review everything calmly.”
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