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McLaren boss Zak Brown has exploded after a costly incident wiped out both of his drivers at the United States Grand Prix, including Aussie Oscar Piastri.
Chaos unfolded on the first corner at the start of the sprint race at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
Nico Hülkenberg made contact with Oscar Piastri’s McLaren, sending the Australian sliding across the track.
Piastri’s car then struck teammate Lando Norris, leaving both McLarens with heavy damage.
Norris was forced to retire immediately as his car could not continue. Piastri limped back to the pits but was also unable to rejoin.
The incident eliminated both McLarens from the sprint within moments of the start.
There was chaos at the first turn in the United States GP Sprint race with both McLaren drivers taken out
One of the drivers wiped out was Australian star Oscar Piastri, who then cannoned into teammate Lando Norris
Race control noted the collision as a racing incident, with no penalties applied.
Team boss Zak Brown was left fuming over the incident, laying the blame squarely at the feet of Hülkenberg.
'That was terrible. Neither of our drivers are to blame there,' Brown said.
'That's some amateur-hour driving by some drivers up there at the front, [they] whacked out two guys.
'I want to see the replay again but clearly Nico Hulkenberg drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was, he went into his left-rear tyre.
'It looks like it was just limited to suspension damage, so hopefully it's relatively easy to fix.'
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella also lashed Hulkenberg.
'It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with a more credence – go to the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors then carry on,' he said.
McLaren boss Zak Brown took a dim view of the incident and blamed German driver Nico Hulkenberg for causing the wreck
Norris tried to return to the race but there was too much damage to his McLaren and he was forced out
'Overall, disappointed but we take it on the chin. We will focus on repairing the cars and there's a lot to do.
'Then we will reset the weekend from there. We are in a strong position from a competitiveness point of view. We hope we have the possibility to race normally and capitalise on our performance.'
Piastri, however, was more measured after the crash.
'I tried to cut back on Lando – I mean, we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit, and he obviously sent me into Lando, so [it's] a shame,' he said.
And his rival teammate Norris also blamed Hulkenberg for causing the crash.
'I mean, what was I meant to do in that – I just got hit,' the 25-year-old said.
'I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened, and I just got unlucky and I got hit because of it.
'I don't know, I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people further back just being a bit careless, and we are the consequence of that.'
Hulkenberg has come under fire from everyone at McLaren for his actions that caused the incident, but he was not penalised by race stewards
The incident is the latest between the warring drivers that threatens to derail both of their ambitions to win the F1 title.
At the Canadian Grand Prix, Norris attempted an overtake on Piastri late in the race, collided with his teammate's car, and retired. Piastri, though damaged, continued and extended his lead in the championship.
Norris admitted fault and apologised to both team and Piastri.
McLaren described the incident as 'not acceptable' and reiterated the internal team rule of no contact between teammates.
Then, at the the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix, Norris made an aggressive move which resulted in contact with Piastri - also involving a third driver.
Piastri felt aggrieved, used some pointed radio messages, and team management noted that there were 'repercussions' for Norris.
