The nineteenth round of the 2025 Formula One season started out with a shock on only the first corner of the race. In Formula One, all cars start lined up in a “grid.” Since they start so close together, the first corner can be eventful.
During the United States Grand Prix sprint race, this bunched up effect led to a crash between teammates (who are also the two current championship leaders) Oscar Piastri (81) and Lando Norris (4). Oscar Piastri started the season out with his sights on the championship, winning race after race with precision and confidence. But after the summer break, he seemed to be struggling with his performance, while his teammate (and closest competitor for the championship title) was only increasing in points and assurance.
During the United States sprint race, Norris qualified before Piastri, but got a bad start off the grid due to a poor reaction time. Piastri went to overtake him, but what he didn’t know was that another car was pulling a similar move to his right, quickly turning the situation into bumper cars. With both of the third place contenders out of the way, Max Verstappen (1) pulled ahead with a substantial margin.