By Alan Baldwin
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) -McLaren’s Formula One title contenders Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris collided and retired from the U.S. Grand Prix sprint race on Saturday.
Piastri’s car was hit by Sauber’s Nico Hulkenberg at the first corner and pitched onto Norris, who had been on the front row of the grid.
The safety car was deployed, with debris across the track, with Red Bull’s Max Verstappen leading the 19 lap race at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas and eight points going to the winner.
“Someone just wiped me out, I’m out,” said Norris, who stopped on track.
Piastri, 22 points clear of his teammate at the top of the standings, made it back to the pit lane but retired with a broken suspension.
“That was terrible. Neither of our drivers to blame there,” McLaren boss Zak Brown told Sky Sports television.
“That’s some amateur-hour driving by some drivers up there at the front, 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.”
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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