McLaren’s title challenge suffered a crushing blow in Austin as both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris were eliminated on the opening lap of the United States Grand Prix sprint, a nightmare scenario that left the team furious and frustrated on Saturday afternoon.
Neither McLaren driver managed to complete a single lap after being caught in a first-corner collision triggered by Nico Hulkenberg.
Team principal Zak Brown did not hide his anger when speaking to Sky Sports F1, insisting that both of his drivers had been innocent victims.
He said: “That was terrible. 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.
Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collided at the first corner during the sprint
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"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.”
Piastri’s race engineer, Tom Stallard, was heard reporting potential suspension damage moments after impact, confirming that both cars would take no further part. It was a disastrous start to the weekend and an unwelcome headache ahead of qualifying later in the day.
The contact, which also left Fernando Alonso with front wing damage, destroyed McLaren’s hopes of gathering crucial data for Sunday’s race.
Veteran commentator Martin Brundle underlined the scale of the setback. He said: “McLaren will now learn nothing about tyre degradation, ride height and skid blocks. All things you could do with learning for tomorrow’s race.”
Neither McLaren driver was able to finish the sprint
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The early double retirement marked one of the most painful moments of McLaren’s season, halting their chances of securing the driver's championship.
Piastri, who entered the sprint as championship leader, saw his points advantage shrink dramatically, while Norris lost valuable ground in his own pursuit of the title. The incident leaves the team’s engineers with not a lot of time for repairs and no meaningful feedback from the session to work with.
At the front, Max Verstappen capitalised fully on the chaos behind him. The reigning world champion got an excellent launch off the line and quickly fended off an ambitious move from George Russell at Turn 12 before powering clear of the field.
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From there, the Dutchman controlled proceedings with clinical precision, opening up a commanding lead and cruising to another sprint victory.
The result handed Verstappen a valuable eight-point swing over both McLaren drivers and reopened the title fight with just a handful of rounds remaining. He now sits only 55 points behind Piastri heading into Sunday’s main Grand Prix and looks intent on piling further pressure on the orange cars.
Max Verstappen capitalised by winning the sprint race
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For McLaren, the mood in the paddock was one of disbelief. A weekend that began with optimism and pace has unravelled before the first race of the weekend even reached Turn Two.
As mechanics began assessing the damage, Brown and his engineers were left ruing what might have been — and hoping Sunday brings redemption after one of their most bruising days of the season.