UNITED STATES GP – Max Verstappen takes a third Austin sprint win, as Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri punted into collision
Max Verstappen won a chaotic sprint race to take his third sprint win in a row at the United States Grand Prix. The Red Bull driver took the lead at the start after his rivals, McLaren both retired after they were punted into each other at the first corner.
Oscar Piastri made a good start getting alongside Lando Norris after making a better start, as he tried to pass the Australian was hit from behind by Nico Hulkenberg. There was then nothing he could have done to avoid the collision with his teammate.
George Russell was second, the Mercedes driver finished the sprint almost four tenths behind Verstappen, with his main rivals out at Turn One. The Red Bull ceased control of the race and was unchallenged for the rest of the sprint. The win allowed Verstappen to close within just over two race wins of the championship lead, with him just a win behind Norris.
At the restart, Verstappen fended off an early attack from Russell as they both ran wide at the first corner after the Mercedes tried to lunge his way past Verstappen, but ultimately was unable to find his way passed. Verstappen retained the position and soon began to edge away and taking control of the race. Sainz was no threat to Russell, but he had to watch his mirrors for Hamilton.
There will be more questions for McLaren as they try to keep the lid on tensions as the title race hots up, with a reminder that Verstappen still remains a threat to them in the drivers’ championship. This will not help the team following ‘consequences’ for Norris over their collision in Singapore
The Australian then went for the inside in the hope of getting the cutback on Norris, but in doing so, his left rear wheel caught the right front of Hulkenberg’s car. That launched Piastri into the air and as he bounced back onto the track, he collected Norris. The Briton was out on the spot while Piastri limped on for a few corners further before pulling off.
Norris told reporters, “I got hit. What else was I meant to do? I need to look at it a bit more. I just got hit, I got taken out, so not a lot I could have done.”
Piastri added,: “I’ve not seen the incident from the TV cameras, but obviously I had a pretty good start, we both went pretty deep into Turn 1 and I tried to cut back, and got a hit, so obviously not a great way to start the day. I need to have another look.”
Team principal Andrea Stella: “The first corner incident took both cars out of the race. It’s surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don’t act with more prudence – go to the first corner, make sure you don’t damage competitors, then carry on. Overall, disappointed but we take it on the chin. We will focus on repairing the cars and there’s a lot to do.”
With both McLarens taken out early in that sprint race and scoring a big fat zero points, Verstappen is now fifty-five points behind leader Piastri and twenty-five off second-placed Norris in the drivers’ championship with six races to go.
Verstappen, who won the sprint race in Austin: “Start was good, then there was the safety car because of the Turn One incident. It took a few laps after the safety car to get decent pace. So we have to figure out what is going on there. But never the less, we won the sprint, which is of course the most important. But of course looking at tomorrow, I do think we have to be better in the race to fight the McLarens.
Russell, who finished second in the sprint, on his on-track battle with Verstappen, “I knew you don’t get too many opportunities against Max and I saw half a chance, but I was probably too far behind. Glad I gave it a go, P2 for sure was better than we expected. Some decent points.”
Sainz who finished third in the sprint race: “We definitely had a solid race, a solid pace. The Ferraris were quick behind, but I kept them under control and we brought home P3. Nothing we are getting a bit more lucky and things have stopped happening to us. But I’ve had this pace all year.”
Lewis Hamilton was fourth, finishing three quarters of a tenth ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, who he passed after the Monacan lost control through the Maggots and Becketts-style section around half distance. Leclerc finished three-quarters of a tenth ahead of Alex Albon.
Leclerc had a snap through the Esses, cut one of the corners, and that allowed Hamilton to close up. He then passed down the straight as Leclerc edged him right to the edge of the track on the inside. Leclerc tried to fight back through the series of slower corners through the stadium section but Hamilton held on.
The race was bookended by another Turn One incident as Esteban Ocon tried to lunge pass Lance Stroll, their contact similar to Hulkenberg as the Haas came from a long way back and attempted to lunge his way past the Canadian.
Albon was four tenths ahead of Yuki Tsunoda, while Ollie Bearman was eighth on the road he was dropped to last after being given a ten-second penalty for passing Kimi Antonelli off track. The Mercedes driver was promoted to the final points position as he finished three-quarters of a second ahead of Liam Lawson.
Tsunoda recovering a solid result to finish seventh after the Japanese driver had been knocked out in SQ1 on Friday. While Pierre Gasly completed the top ten as he finished over half a second ahead of Gabriel Bortoleto, with Isack Hadjar splitting the two Sauber’s as he was four tenths ahead of Nico Hulkenberg.
Hulkenberg, unable to convert is strong sprint qualifying, where he was fourth on the grid, into a decent haul of points for Sauber, as he finished around a second and a half ahead of Franco Colapinto. Bearman being the final finisher ahead of his teammate Ocon, following his collision with Stroll.