Piastri & Norris collide as Verstappen wins sprint

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris, McLaren team-mates and title rivals, collided shortly after the start of the American Grand Prix sprint race.

After cutting off Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber, Piastri bounced into Norris and pulled both McLarens out of the race. Fernando Alonso, a teammate of Aston Martin, was also forced to leave.

The incident occurred over the weekend, when McLaren made efforts to control the tension between their drivers and let them race.

Max Verstappen, a Red Bull driver, won the race after a brief fight with George Russell of Mercedes. Lewis Hamilton was beaten for third place by Williams’ Carlos Sainz.

The Briton once said, “I just got hit, right? ” Nothing I did was wrong. Further back, there were events that occurred, and I was hit and unlucky as a result.

I need to examine my situation a little more attentively. More people are being a little careless further back, and we are the result.

I haven’t seen the incident from the TV cameras, Piastri said to Sky Sports, but I must say that I did.

As they approached the first corner with their wide, uphill entry, Piastri made a better start than Norris and initially moved in favor of attacking his team-mate.

The Australian then turned around and attempted to cut off Norris, but instead his left rear wheel slammed into Hulkenberg’s car.

Piastri jumped into the air and collected Norris as he rebounded from the track. Piastri limped on for a few more corners before pulling off, but the Briton was on the spot.

It was precisely what McLaren’s management desired. The first rule was that the drivers must not collide with one another, despite the fact that they have been doing so for the entire year.

Discussions of the small touch between them in Singapore two weeks ago, when Norris bounced into Piastri after beating Verstappen, have dominated the Austin weekend.

Verstappen, who McLaren have always emphasized remained a threat in the championship despite his significant deficit, especially now that Red Bull have returned from a slump in recent races, received a gift from Verstappen.

Verstappen was followed by Russell after the crash, who made a bold move into Turn 12 on lap seven, a late dive that resulted in both going off the track.

Verstappen held onto the lead and soon took control of the race.

Sainz didn’t pose a threat to Russell, but he did have to watch Hamilton in his mirrors.

On lap eight, the Monegasque lost control of his car after the high-speed Esses earlier in the lap, passing team-mate Charles Leclerc.

Hamilton was able to close up after Leclerc cut one of the corners and cut through the Esses. Leclerc edged him right to the inside edge of the track before he passed down the straight.

Hamilton held on as Leclerc attempted to recoup his momentum as he made a series of slower corners in the stadium.

Leclerc placed fifth, Alex Albon of Williams sixth, and Yuki Tsunoda of Red Bull seventh.

After a 10-second penalty, Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli awarded Haas driver Oliver Bearman the victory by leaving the track after the Italian attempted a passing move into Turn 12 late in the race.

When his team informed him of the penalty during the race, Bearman apparently felt that Antonelli had forced him to take a late turn, and he could not believe it.

After Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll T-boned Esteban Ocon’s Haas into the first corner, leaving his team with a significant repair job on both cars in the lead-up to grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST, the race ended under another safety car.

1. 8 points for Max Verstappen (Red Bull).

2. 7-George Russell (Mercedes)

3. Williams (Carlos Sainz) – 6

4. Hamilton (Ferrari) – 5

5. 4 – Charles Leclerc (Ferrari).

6. 3 Williams Williams – Alex Albon

7. Red Bull Yuki Tsunoda 2