The sprint race at the United States Grand Prix began with Max Verstappen making an excellent start and keeping the lead into the first corner. Behind him, chaos unfolded between the two McLaren drivers.

Oscar Piastri was hit from behind, which sent him into his teammate Lando Norris. Norris was forced to stop immediately, while Piastri continued until Turn 9 before pulling over and retiring from the race. Their collision also caused Nico Hülkenberg’s Sauber to spin in front of the field, creating confusion and debris everywhere.

George Russell managed to avoid the trouble and moved up into second place behind Verstappen, with Carlos Sainz close behind in third, Charles Leclerc in fourth, and Lewis Hamilton in fifth. Fernando Alonso was also caught up in the opening lap chaos, and Lance Stroll picked up damage to his car.

One of the biggest winners from the early incidents was Yuki Tsunoda, who climbed from 18th on the grid to seventh place. The Safety Car was quickly brought out to clear the debris scattered across the circuit from Turn 1 to Turn 11.

When racing resumed on Lap 6, Verstappen led the field smoothly through the first corner. He built a small gap of about eight-tenths of a second over Russell, with Sainz close behind but just outside of DRS range. But Russell stayed close and tried to attack Verstappen for the lead at Turn 12 on Lap 8, but both cars went wide, allowing Verstappen to stay ahead. The stewards looked into the move but decided that no further action was necessary.

Leclerc, who had made it up to fourth place, was briefly investigated for a possible Safety Car infringement but was later cleared. A few laps later, Hamilton overtook him at Turn 12 to move up to fourth position. As the race went on, Verstappen started to pull away at the front, while Russell’s tyres began to lose grip.

Further down the order, Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman battled for eighth place, the final points-paying position. Bearman went off the track during their fight and was given a ten-second penalty by the stewards.

The race saw another collision on Lap 16 when Esteban Ocon and Lance Stroll came together at Turn 1. Stroll tried to make a move down the inside but locked his brakes and hit Ocon’s rear wheel. Both cars suffered heavy damage and were forced to retire, bringing out the second Safety Car of the race. Because the clean-up took longer than expected, the race ended under the Safety Car.

Max Verstappen won the United States Grand Prix Sprint ahead of George Russell in second and Carlos Sainz in third. Lewis Hamilton finished fourth, followed by Charles Leclerc, Alex Albon, Yuki Tsunoda, and Kimi Antonelli in eighth. Bearman’s penalty dropped him to fifteenth place. The victory gave Verstappen 281 points in the Drivers’ Championship, leaving him 33 points behind Lando Norris in second place and 55 points behind Oscar Piastri, who remains the championship leader.