Max Verstappen wins the American Grand Prix sprint after both McLaren drivers crash on the first lap. As a result, Verstappen’s lead on the title has narrowed to 55 points, with six Grands Prix and two Sprints remaining.
Title leader Oscar Piastri got off to a better start than his teammate Lando Norris, who was third and second on the grid respectively, and was slightly ahead in the braking zone of the first corner. Not wanting to get stuck on the outside of the corner, Piastri retreated to the inside line to pass his sister car, but as he switched lines he was run into by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg, who started fourth, had Fernando Alonso on the inside and had no option to change course. He forced Piastri into Norris and wreaked havoc in turn one, instantly eliminating both the McLaren driver and Alonso from the race and damaging his car and the cars of two other drivers.
“That was terrible,” McLaren chief executive Zac Brown told Sky Sports television. “Neither of our drivers should be held responsible.
“The other driver in front of me was doing some amateur driving and obviously Nico rammed into Oscar, but he didn’t need to be where he was.”
When the safety car was brought out to clear the debris mess in the first sector and racing resumed on lap six, Verstappen led George Russell on the first full lap of the day’s race.
Russell closed in on the Red Bull Racing car and began late braking into turn 12 at the end of the back straight on lap nine. He held the inside line but was unable to slow the car enough to take the corner. Both drivers went off the track, with Verstappen retaining the lead and Russell’s momentum waning.
This was the only time Verstappen’s position was challenged, and Verstappen then checked out in the lead for a comfortable victory.
“After the safety car, it took me a few laps to get to a decent pace, so I have to figure out what’s going on there, but I still won the most important sprint,” said the world champion. “Looking to tomorrow, I think we need to be a little bit better in race trim to be able to compete with McLaren, because we didn’t see any McLaren today.
“We’ll see. Obviously, we have some ideas of what we can do. Hopefully tomorrow we’ll be a little better.”
Russell consolidated second place with a good result for Mercedes after a poor sprint qualifying result, but his third place was due entirely to a first-lap crash.
“I knew I didn’t have a lot of chances with Max, so I took half the chances and sent them in,” he said of the lead shot. “Perhaps I was too late.
“We’re glad we tried it. P2 is certainly better than we expected.”
Carlos Sainz completed the podium for Williams in third place, with the Spaniard also benefiting from a first-lap confusion to move up the order.
“It was definitely a solid race,” he said. “We had a solid pace. The Ferraris were fast behind, but I was able to keep them under control and we got him into third place. It feels really good.”
Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc both survived the carnage well to pick up points in fourth and fifth place, with Hamilton punishing Leclerc for running off the road on lap nine, boldly overtaking him at turn 12 at the end of the back straight.
Alex Albon finished 6th, while Yuki Tsunoda had a sensational start, gaining 11 places before the safety car was brought out on the first lap. The Red Bull Racing driver appeared to hit the carbon fiber as he rounded the first corner on a tight inside line, but the debris stuck in his car appeared to be dislodged during the sprint and he was able to maintain his position.
Oliver Bearman took the checkered flag in eighth place, the final point in the sprint, but ran off the track and was given a 10-second penalty for gaining an advantage to protect his position from Kimi Antonelli. The worst news for the Haas drivers was that Lance Stroll punted Esteban Ocon’s sister Haas off the track with an ambitious dive into the first corner, forcing both drivers out of the race before the sprint ended under another safety car.
Antonelli inherited eighth place, but a penalty dropped Bearman to 15th place, last place behind Liam Lawson, Pierre Gasly, Gabriel Bortleto, Izak Hajar, Nico Hulkenberg and Franco Colapinto, the latter two of whom had pitted for repairs at the end of the first lap.
result
