Austin - Sprint

As soon as the three contenders for this year's World Drivers' Championship qualified right by each other, it became clear that the first turn of the race was sure to be filled with action and excitement. When the five lights went out for the shorter of the two races held at the Circuit of the Americas, the prediction came true, although not in the way many people may have expected. 

While the polesitter, Max Verstappen, couldn't have dreamed of a better start, the same couldn't be said about the two men driving behind him. At the very first turn, a fight for position between Fernando Alonso and Nico Hulkenberg led to the latter hitting the back of Oscar Piastri's McLaren. The car's side flew into the air and hit Lando Norris' vehicle on its way down. A few other cars also got caught up in the situation, either taking damage at "the scene of the crime" or due to the debris that soon covered the entire track. 

Norris' McLaren remained stationary by turn one. His teammate managed to go on for a while longer, but was ultimately also forced to retire, as was Alonso. The other drivers continued, although some of them had to take advantage of the safety car that was promptly called in and visit the pit lane. The situation that ruined the races of so many was also the saving grace for a few lucky drivers. George Russell and Carlos Sainz moved into podium-scoring positions, the two Ferraris jumped into the top five, and a few of the contenders who started in the back managed to make up multiple positions. The record holder was Yuki Tsunoda, who moved up from P18 all the way to P7. 

The safety car left the track at lap 5, and Verstappen was quick to resume racing. It only took a few laps for him to be attacked by the Mercedes behind him. Despite both cars going off track, no one was punished for unfair driving, and the Dutchman managed to keep his lead. Behind the two of them, it seemed like a fight was brewing between Leclerc and his old teammate, Carlos Sainz. With every lap, the Monegasque was getting closer and closer, only to ultimately lose all his progress due to a driving mistake that ended with him going off track. He was then also overtaken by Hamilton, falling to P5, a position in which he finished the short race. 

Just when it seemed like the fight between Kimi Antonelli and Oliver Bearman for the last point-scoring position would be the highlight of the last laps (the Italian took it in the end, after his rival was penalised for leaving the track and gaining an advantage), yellow flags waved over the race when Lance Stroll locked up as he tried to overtake Esteban Ocon and accidentally drove straight into the back of his Haas. Both drivers had to retire from the race, and the second safety car was called in. This time, it lasted until the end of the sprint, giving Verstappen a somewhat anticlimactic victory.

Order of the grid:

1. Max Verstappen

2. George Russel

3. Carlos Sainz

4. Lewis Hamilton

5. Charles Leclerc

6. Alex Albon

7. Yuki Tsunoda

8. Kimi Antonelli

9. Liam Lawson

10. Pierre Gasly

11. Gabriel Bortoleto

12. Isack Hadjar

13. Nico Hulkenberg

14. Franco Colapinto

15. Oliver Bearman

DNF: Lance Stroll, Esteban Ocon, Oscar Piastri, Fernando Alonso, Lando Norris