US GP: How will McLaren handle latest Lando Norris-Oscar Piastri collision after Austin Sprint | F1 News

With McLaren's handling of the Drivers' Championship battle between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris already in the spotlight, disaster struck when the pair both retired from Saturday's United States Grand Prix Sprint after another collision on the opening lap.

Nearly two weeks after Norris made contact with Piastri during an overtake on the opening lap of the Singapore Grand Prix, an incident for which the Briton would later be sanctioned by the team, the roles were somewhat reversed in Austin.

Piastri, who leads Norris by 22 points at the top of the standings, attempted to come back under and pass his teammate at the first corner of the Circuit of the Americas, but found Nico Hulkenberg in his way, suffering a heavy collision with Sauber that sent the McLaren flying into his teammate, leaving both papaya cars with terminal damage.

Pole sitter Max Verstappen took victory for Red Bull with a result that puts him 55 points behind Piastri and just 33 points behind Norris heading into Sunday's full race in Texas.

It was a nightmare scenario for McLaren, handing Verstappen a decent points gain in a race in which he likely would have struggled to keep them behind had they made it through the first corner.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown and team principal Andrea Stella both appeared to blame Hulkenberg, rather than either of their own drivers, for the crash, but it is worth noting that they also initially absolved Norris of any wrongdoing in Singapore.

Danica Patrick, a former IndyCar and NASCAR driver, disagreed, suggesting Piastri made “poor judgment”, while her compatriot Sky Sports F1 Expert Karun Chandhok said McLaren was in a “delicate” situation after setting a “precedent” by punishing Norris for what happened in Singapore.

McLaren bosses blame Hulkenberg

There were similarities with the Singapore incident in that on that occasion Norris attempted to pass Piastri on the inside and made contact with Verstappen in front of them, which sent him sideways towards his teammate.

On this occasion, Piastri was attempting to pass Norris but found Hulkenberg's Sauber on the inside, making much greater contact that almost flipped his car and sent it with a thud into Norris.

In both cases, it is reasonable to assume that if there had been no other cars nearby, contact between the McLarens would have been avoided.

However, while no one suggested Verstappen was to blame in Singapore, in Austin Brown and Stella were highly critical of Hulkenberg, who was battling Fernando Alonso on the inside of Turn 1.

Brown, addressing Sky Sports F1 from the McLaren pit wall while the Sprint was still running, said: “It was terrible. None of our drivers are to blame there.”

“It’s an hour of amateur driving from some drivers up there at the front, (they) bothered a couple of guys.

“I want to watch the replay again, but clearly Nico Hülkenberg hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was, he gouged his left rear tire.”

Stella, speaking to Sky Sports F1 after the end of the Sprint, added: “It is surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience do not act more cautiously – go into the first corner, make sure not to damage the competitors, then continue.”

Both Piastri and Norris gave brief interviews after the Sprint, but ultimately concluded that they would have to watch replays of the incident to be able to offer a more informed opinion. Both will speak to the media again after qualifying later on Saturday.

“It was avoidable” – Patrick criticizes Piastri

Sky Sports F1 Patrick argued that Piastri could have given in to Norris and avoided the risk he took in trying to cut down his teammate.

“We were watching this at high speed and it seemed like both of them had slowed down a lot and Oscar was being very careful,” Patrick said.

“That's what can happen sometimes if you try to stay away from each other so much and do something outside of your norm, or even run outside and do it that way.

“Inside the cockpit the view is so different from what we see, but everyone rushes into the first corner with as much speed as possible and he slowed down everything extra.

“It was avoidable. He could have lined up behind Lando and continued. Instead, he was invited into that space. It was a bad decision.”

Should McLaren reverse the “repercussions”?

The biggest story of the weekend before the Sprint collision had been McLaren's decision to reveal that Norris had been sanctioned for the Singapore incident, but then refused to share exactly how much advantage they gave to Piastri.

Interviews with drivers and team bosses revealed that Norris' punishment was a sporting sanction and could be carried out in the remaining five rounds after the United States Grand Prix.

Brown's insistence that the measures would have “no interference” with the Sunday races has led many to speculate that the decision gives Piastri an advantage in qualifying, perhaps allowing him to choose whether he would prefer to take the track before or after Norris for the most crucial races.

Former F1 world champion Jenson Button and his colleagues Sky Sports F1 Expert Chandhok debated after Saturday's Sprint whether McLaren should now remove or rescind the sanctions imposed on Norris.

Chandhok said: “In my opinion, I wouldn't have done anything here but I wouldn't have done anything for Singapore because it was also a first-round racing incident.

“The tricky thing that they got themselves into internally is that by doing what they did after Singapore and declaring it publicly, it set a precedent.”

Button added: “If I was team principal, no because it's one of those things. From what Zak has said so far, other drivers have ridden on Oscar.”

“From a racing driver's point of view, it was more about Oscar. Lando isn't even in this conversation. He just wasn't lucky to be there.”

Sky Sports F1 US GP Live Schedule

Sunday October 19
6:30 p.m.: Sunday Grand Prix: preparation for the United States GP*
8 p.m.: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10 p.m.: Checkered flag: reaction from the United States GP
11 p.m.: Ted’s notebook

*also live on Sky Sports Main Event

Formula 1 is in North America for the United States Grand Prix in Austin, live on Sky Sports F1 and Sky Sports Main Event with Sunday's race at 8 p.m. (prep from 6:30 p.m.). Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime