A disastrous start for McLaren at the first turn at the Circuit of the Americas saw both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris stunningly crash out of the sprint race at the United States Grand Prix.
The track’s notorious ‘Big Red’ first corner claimed a pair of papaya victims after Piastri collided with Sauber’s Niko Hulkenberg at the apex of the large hill at the opening of the race.
The contact sent the Aussie’s car flying, then crashing into his teammate Norris – ending their days early.
Piastri sustained suspension damage while the tire on one of the McLaren machines went rolling across the circuit for the rest of the grid to avoid.
In the bunching up of cars, Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso also crashed and had his day end early.
Red Bull’s Yuki Tsunoda carried the front wing of one of his rivals under his car for some stretch of the first sector before it eventually dislodged on the track, leading to a safety car that lasted for roughly five laps.
Lando Norris’ McLaren spins out as debris flies after a wreck with teammate Oscar Piastri
Norris (white suit) walks away from his car after crashing at the first corner in Austin, Texas
An incensed McLaren CEO Zak Brown spoke to commentator David Croft moments after the wreck, saying, ‘That was terrible, neither of our drivers to blame there. It’s some amateur hour driving by some drivers at the front.’
The pair of drivers were both also interviewed after the wreck.
‘No idea, I got hit what else was I gonna do… I just got hit I got taken out, not a lot I could’ve done,’ Norris told reporters.
‘I’m not seeing the incident from the TV cameras, but obviously I had a pretty good start,’ said Piastri.
‘We both went pretty deep into Turn One, and I tried to cut back and got a hit. So, obviously not a great way to start the day, but I need to have another look.’
On Lap 16, ‘Big Red’ claimed yet another victim when Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll made a reckless move that saw him plow straight into Haas driver Esteban Ocon at the top of the hill.
Stroll went too deep into the braking zone and almost speared the back left tire of the Frenchman, spinning him out and ending both their races.
The Canadian destroyed the suspension on his front right tire. He then, bizarrely, tried to continue driving his machine before ultimately parking his car near Turn Three on the course as the safety car came out again.
It meant that the 19 lap race would end under a safety car, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen winning his third-straight sprint race in Austin and his 13th sprint race overall.
The Dutchman claimed eight crucial points in his victory, moving him within 55 points of championship leader Piastri.
