Austin Sprint carnage wipes out both McLarens as Verstappen banks easy eight
The long drag up COTA’s Turn 1 bit hard on Saturday. Lando Norris didn’t even make it to the apex before his title fight took a thump — courtesy of a chain reaction that lifted Oscar Piastri’s McLaren over his left-rear and ended both papaya cars on the spot.
What looked like a clean, side‑by‑side McLaren launch unraveled in a heartbeat. Piastri, starting third, got the better getaway and drew level with Norris into that steep left-hander. He went for the classic cutback; behind him, Nico Hülkenberg found himself in the worst place on the opening lap — a Haas squeezed between Piastri on the right and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin on the left. Contact pinged Piastri up and across into Norris. Two McLarens, zero laps completed.
“I don’t know what I’m meant to do in that,” Norris said afterwards, shoulders up, palms out. “I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back, things happened and then I just got unlucky and I got hit because of it.”
“I had a pretty good start, and we both went pretty deep into Turn 1,” Piastri told Sky Sports. “I tried to cut back and got a hit. So yeah, obviously not a great way to start the day, but I need to have another look.”
Alonso was also a first‑corner casualty. Hülkenberg limped in for a new nose and any chance of Sprint points evaporated. Max Verstappen, unbothered by the chaos, did what he does best — win Sprints — and with both McLarens parked in the pit lane before Lap 2, the Dutchman trimmed eight points from the pair chasing the title.
That’s the sting. Norris and Piastri arrived in Texas split by just 22 points in the Drivers’ standings, a nose-to-tail fight inside one team that’s been simmering all season. The Sprint offered a low‑risk chance to nick more, and instead handed Verstappen a free run at damage limitation — or better.
On the McLaren pit wall, patience was short. CEO Zak Brown branded it “amateur hour,” making clear he wasn’t pointing the finger at his own drivers. Team principal Andrea Stella, typically measured, was sharper than usual on Sky Sports: “It’s surprising that, you know, some drivers with a lot of experience don’t act with just more prudence. Just more prudence, go through the first corner, make sure you don’t damage competitors and then carry on.
“So, overall, disappointed but we take it on the chin. We are now focusing on repairing the cars and there’s a lot to do and then we restart the weekend from there. I think we are in a strong position from a competitiveness point of view, so we hope we have the possibility to race, race normally, and capitalise on our performance.”
Inside the team, the timing isn’t ideal. The Norris–Piastri dynamic was already under a brighter light after Singapore, where Norris muscled past his teammate at Turn 3 for third. McLaren’s post‑race review put Norris at fault and, while we’ve not been privy to any internal penalties, the message was clear: keep it clean, keep it smart. Austin’s Sprint wasn’t a case of team‑on‑team argy‑bargy — this was collateral from someone else’s pinch point — but the outcome is the same: a big opportunity gone in seconds and mechanics working overtime before Sunday.
If there’s a silver lining for Woking, it’s that the pace is still there. Norris started on the front row; Piastri right behind. On outright speed, McLaren’s car belongs at the sharp end this weekend. What they need now is a boring first lap in the Grand Prix, which, around COTA’s bowl‑shaped Turn 1, is easier said than done.
The title picture, meanwhile, tightens. McLaren’s intra‑team tussle remains box office, but Verstappen creeping eight closer is the headline he wanted out of a 100‑kilometre Saturday. He didn’t have to beat a McLaren to do it — they did the job for him.
Elsewhere in the mess, Alonso’s day ended before it began and Hülkenberg’s was neutered by that front‑wing change. None of which will make McLaren feel better. They came to Texas to put time between themselves and the field; instead, they’ll spend the afternoon counting new parts and hoping Sunday’s script is less chaotic.
All eyes now on lights out for the Grand Prix. Same hill. Same pinch point. McLaren could use a little prudence from everyone this time.
