Motorsport TechnologyMax Verstappen was gifted an easy victory in the Austin GP Sprint race, after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri collided on the opening corner.
It was difficult to apportion any real blame to the McLaren duo, Piastri pitched into a spin after contact with Nico Hulkenberg, and then collecting the unfortunate Norris in the process.
The incident also took out the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso, meaning the top three finished Verstappen, Singapore winner George Russell and Carlos Sainz ahead of the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Importantly, is also gives Verstappen something of a lifeline, the Dutchman eating a further eight points into Piastri’s lead, cutting the overall deficit to 63 points.
Not the start to the Sprint either Lando Norris or Oscar Piastri hoped for 😢#F1Sprint #USGP pic.twitter.com/AmyI0xmNPm
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 18, 2025
“Well it’s very simple; if you keep winning, then that’s a good thing,” Verstappen told Sky Sports. “Of course, the sprint we won, but the pace was not where I wanted it to be.
“So if we want to win tomorrow, we definitely need to be stronger, and that’s something that we’ll analyse now – how we can find that pace.”
For the McLaren duo, it was a case of six of one and half a dozen of the other, with none accepting the blame.
“I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it,” said Norris. “I need to look a bit more carefully. It’s more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that.”
The McLaren duo have their say on the Turn 1 incident… 🗣️
Plus a bonus Lando reaction to Max and George’s battle! 👊👀#F1Sprint #USGP pic.twitter.com/emxes4wIFS
— Formula 1 (@F1) October 18, 2025
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Fraser Masefield
