F1 Sprint – Austin 2025: Both McLaren wiped out as Verstappen wins under Safety Car

F1 Sprint Austin 2025 delivered heat, chaos, and heartbreak for McLaren.
Both papaya cars were gone by Turn 1, caught in a chain reaction that started when Oscar Piastri tried to cut back under Lando Norris and Nico Hülkenberg arrived on the inside.
Five seconds of contact, and the team’s Sprint was over before it even began.

Key Points

• Verstappen wins from Russell and Sainz
• Both McLarens eliminated on Lap 1 after Hülkenberg–Piastri contact
• Alonso retires with a puncture from the same incident
• Stroll and Ocon crash late, triggering a second Safety Car
• Bearman penalised ten seconds for off-track defending
• Antonelli inherits the final point in P8

Turn 1 – how it unfolded

Verstappen launched clean from pole.
Norris took the wide line into Turn 1, cleared Piastri on exit, and the Australian tried to cut back underneath.
At the same moment Hülkenberg, already committed on the inside, met the apex. Hülkenberg was also squeezed slightly by Alonso’s Aston Martin on the inside.
His front wing clipped Piastri’s rear-right, spinning the McLaren sideways into Norris.
Both cars were out instantly.

Alonso picked up debris and punctured a tyre. Hülkenberg lost his front wing. The Safety Car was deployed before the field reached Turn 8.

Norris: “I got taken out. Nothing more I could do.”
Piastri: “Good start, tried to cut back, got hit. Not a good start to the day.”
Zak Brown: “That was terrible. Neither of our drivers to blame. Amateur hour.”

Brown’s frustration was clear, but the replay tells a more balanced story.
Hülkenberg made contact, yet Piastri’s cut-back move tightened the gap.
The stewards reviewed it and ruled it a racing incident.

Laps 3 to 5 – clearing up and restarting

Marshals swept debris across the first sector. Tsunoda ran over fragments but continued.
By Lap 5 Verstappen controlled the restart, jumped early, and held the lead into Turn 1.
Russell stayed close in second. Leclerc avoided the carnage to move up to fourth, ahead of Hamilton.
Hülkenberg rejoined in fifteenth with a damaged front wing.

Laps 6 to 10 – Russell pressures Verstappen

DRS opened. Russell closed to within a second and launched one move into Turn 12. Both drivers ran wide.
The attempt overheated Russell’s tyres and the challenge faded.

Sainz held third, Hamilton passed Leclerc for fourth after the Ferrari ran deep at Turn 1.
Verstappen radioed frustration about the rear grip but maintained control.

Laps 11 to 14 – race stabilises

Russell dropped back as his tyres faded. Hamilton began chasing Sainz.
Albon was comfortable in sixth, Tsunoda seventh after climbing from eighteenth.
Bearman held eighth, defending hard from Antonelli and running wide twice.
The stewards noted it but took no action at that stage.

Laps 15 to 17 – late chaos

The race burst back into life.
Stroll lunged on Ocon at Turn 1, locked up, and spun the Alpine.
Ocon stopped on the outside of the corner. Stroll continued briefly on three wheels before parking up.
Safety Car out again.

Laps 18 to 19 – finish behind the Safety Car

Bearman’s earlier defending earned a ten-second penalty, dropping him from the points.
Antonelli moved into eighth to claim his first Sprint point.
Verstappen led Russell and Sainz home behind the Safety Car.
Hamilton finished fourth, Leclerc fifth, Albon sixth, Tsunoda seventh.

McLaren’s reset

For McLaren it was less about blame and more about recovery.
Two damaged cars, no points, and only a few hours until Grand Prix qualifying.
The crew now face a race against the clock to get both MCL39s ready.
Singapore’s “repercussions” had calmed the tone. Austin reopened the wound.
Different cause, same frustration.

Coffee Corner Take On F1 Sprint Austin 2025

Zak Brown vented. The replay softened it.
Hülkenberg made contact, but Piastri’s cut-back helped close the door.
One of those first-lap squeezes that defines a Sprint weekend.

The real test now is response.
McLaren have the car, the drivers, and the form. They just need rhythm.
Moments like this don’t end seasons. They show how fast you can put one back together.