SPRINT START: Piastri and Norris out of Sprint after contact at Turn 1

The McLaren championship contenders were both forced to exit the Sprint early after contact at the start.

Oct 18, 2025 5:20pm UTC

The Sprint in Austin got off to a dramatic start as the McLaren pair of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri – starting second and third respectively behind the Red Bull of Max Verstappen – crashed out after colliding on the opening corner.

The replays showed that championship leader Piastri went into Turn 1 with caution before being tagged by the Kick Sauber of Nico Hulkenberg behind, the German having claimed an impressive fourth-placed start yesterday. That contact sent Piastri into his team mate and forced both championship contenders out of the Sprint with the Safety Car called into action.

"That was terrible, neither of our drivers to blame," said McLaren CEO Zak Brown afterwards. "Amateur hour. Nico drove into Oscar."

With Max Verstappen holding the lead, the incident saw George Russell rise into second with Carlos Sainz third.

Watch the start of the Sprint in Austin using the video at the top of the page.

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