McLaren suffer double DNF as Verstappen wins chaotic Austin Sprint

Max Verstappen added fuel to his championship fire with a commanding Sprint victory in Austin, capitalising on a dramatic double DNF for McLaren that saw both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris wiped out in a chaotic Turn 1 clash at the United States Grand Prix.

Staying true to its usually chaotic nature, Turn 1 at the United States Grand Prix put on a show when the five lights went out, with debris flying and cars spinning as the field went all out at the uphill corner. 

Just over 250 meters into the 19-lap Sprint, a double DNF hit this year’s constructors’ champions when Piastri made contact with Nico Hulkenberg, taking a sharp inside line as he attempted to “cut back” on his teammate and instead becoming part of the three-car sandwich that saw the Sauber driver being squeezed by the #81 and Fernando Alonso.

Bouncing onto two wheels, the Australian rebounded into his teammate, spinning Norris out of the Sprint as the Briton’s rear tyre was sent flying across the circuit.

Norris was unable to continue on from Turn 1, while Piastri, running with a broken pull rod, bowed out of the Sprint just a few corners later at Turn 9, admitting his retirement was “not a great way to start the day”.

A rear puncture took Alonso out of the shortened race, while front wings were replaced in the pitlane as the Safety Car made its first appearance of the weekend.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom at the first corner, however, with Yuki Tsunoda the biggest winner as he weaved his way through the carnage, making up eleven places in P7 despite dragging around Hulkenberg’s front wing, stuck underneath his RB21.

The Ferrari drivers also made up ground, with Charles Leclerc picking up six places and Lewis Hamilton picking up three places from the starting order, all to trail the calm and composed Williams of Carlos Sainz in P3.

Controlling the tempo of the Sprint restart, Verstappen launched early, however, he wasn’t able to shake the Mercedes driver, who kept breathing down the Dutchman’s neck as DRS was enabled.

George Russell made his first attempt at an overtake at Turn 12, sending both drivers onto the run-off area after he “completely missed the corner”, earning attention from the stewards for forcing another driver wide. 

Running in third, Sainz wasn’t able to stay in contention for the silver medal, dropping over two seconds behind the tense battle ahead, while the Ferrari drivers swapped order thanks to a “stupid mistake” from Leclerc, who ran wide through Turn 4.

With Hamilton now the man in his mirrors, the interval halved over the next few laps, however, the seven-time world champion wasn’t able to make the desired impact on the Williams driver settling into P4 through to the chequered flag.

Duelling for the final points position, rookies Ollie Bearman and Kimi Antonelli put on an exciting display of racing as they charged around the 5.5km circuit, with Bearman picking up a 10-second time penalty after leaving the track and gaining an advantage at Turn 15 before the race was brought to a halt.

Charging into an overtake at the first braking zone, Lance Stroll locked up and was unable to avoid an innocent Esteban Ocon at Turn 1, spinning the Haas driver out of the race, and retiring himself just a few corners down the road as his front right wheel hung on by a mere thread. 

The messy incident brought the Safety Car out on Lap 16, and with just three laps left to clear two stricken cars, the United States Grand Prix Sprint ended under neutralised conditions. 

Verstappen guided the field across the finish line, picking up eight points in the process and breathing more life into his optimistic championship hopes as the difference between the Red Bull driver and Piastri now sits at just 55 points.

Coming home in second place, Russell admitted that his Turn 12 move was his only chance at stealing the lead, accepting defeat as Sainz completed the Austin Sprint podium behind him — the Spaniard’s success only amplified by the satisfaction of having both Ferrari cars directly in his mirrors.

Behind Hamilton and Leclerc, Alex Albon made it a double points finish for Williams, crossing the line in P6 ahead of Tsunoda, whose ability to capitalise in amongst the opening lap chaos earned him two points.

Rounding out the points positions, Antonelli inherited P8 from the penalised Haas rookie, earning one point while Liam Lawson finished just shy of his weekend target in ninth. 

Returning to their garages, the results of the Sprint are now a thing of the past as the drivers switch focus to Qualifying for the main event.

The hour shootout will get underway at 08:00 AEST, with the high-drama Austin Sprint leaving many teams with significant repair jobs ahead of the important session. 

Image: Formula 1

USGP Sprint Race Results:

2025 United States Grand Prix Schedule (AEST):

Saturday, October 18th:

Free Practice: 04:30 – 05:30

Sprint Qualifying: 08:30 – 09:14

Sunday, October 19th:

Sprint Race: 04:00 – 04:30

Qualifying: 08:00 – 09:00

Monday, October 20th:

Race: 06:00 – 08:00

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