Formula One championship leader Oscar Piastri downplayed his collision with McLaren teammate Lando Norris that forced both drivers to retire from Saturday’s U.S. Grand Prix sprint, calling it “just a racing incident.”

The Australian was struck by Sauber’s Nico Hülkenberg at the first corner, sending his car into Norris, who had started on the front row and was chasing eventual race winner Max Verstappen of Red Bull.

The crash left debris scattered across Austin’s Circuit of the Americas and brought out the safety car, quickly becoming the day’s main talking point.

“I think it was just a racing incident,” said Piastri. “Lando and I were a long way from the apex, and it’s impossible to see everything at that point. You have to trust your gut and your instinct — and that’s what I did.”

Norris retired at the side of the track, while Piastri — who leads his teammate by 22 points in the standings — limped back to the pits with a broken suspension.

McLaren CEO Zak Brown initially expressed frustration during the race, telling Sky Sports: “That was terrible. Neither of our drivers were to blame there. That’s some amateur-hour driving by some of the guys up front who wiped out two of our cars.”

However, after reviewing footage, Brown moderated his stance.
“I’ve looked at it again and changed my view,” he said. “I can’t really put that on Nico.”

Team principal Andrea Stella later suggested that “some very experienced drivers should have shown more prudence” in the opening moments of the race.

Norris, meanwhile, refused to fault his teammate when asked if Piastri had been too aggressive at the tight Turn 1.
“He got hit, no? He got hit, right? So why is it his fault?” Norris responded.

He added that he would wait to review the incident in detail.
“I think things will be reviewed just to understand a few more things. But apart from that, there’s nothing I can do. I just have to crack on and do my own thing.”

The clash marked the second consecutive weekend of contact between the McLaren pair, following an earlier incident in Singapore where Norris forced Piastri wide — a moment that sparked internal discussions and saw Norris take the blame.