Formula One: Oscar Piastri’s McLaren advantages revoked after USA horror show

Australian Formula One Championship leader Oscar Piastri’s McLaren advantages have been revoked after just one round.

Piastri was believed to have been given the ability to dictate if he went out first or second with teammate Lando Norris during qualifying after the Brit caused an incident between the pair that fired up the Aussie in Singapore.

However, Piastri and Norris wiping out in the first corner of the Sprint race at Austin last weekend has seen the pair given a clean slate for the remainder of the season.

Despite contact from Sauber’s Nico Hulkenburg pushing Piastri into Norris, the team decided in review that Piastri had partly caused the collision with an aggressive switchback attempting to pass his teammate.

The qualifying advantages did little to help Piastri in a frustrating weekend that saw his championship lead whittled down to 14 points by Norris, with the Aussie unable to finish better than fifth.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen has also stormed into championship calculations after another grand prix victory in Texas, sitting 24 points behind Norris in third.

McLaren team principal Zak Brown initially put all the blame squarely on Hulkenberg, describing the German’s driving as “amateur hour”, but later backflipped and apologised.

Piastri accepted his role in the crash and revealed on Friday both McLaren drivers would start fresh in Mexico this weekend.

“The consequences on Lando’s side have been removed,” he said.

“We have gone through it again. We go through every weekend regardless of what’s happened.

“I think there is a degree of responsibility on my side for the sprint, and we are starting this weekend with a clean slate for both of us. So, just going out racing and see who can come out on top.”

Piastri will need to make major improvements to recent race weekends and how he finished last season to maintain a grip on the title.

In 2024, he finished eighth in Mexico and Brazil, seventh in Las Vegas, third in Qatar and 10th in Abu Dhabi, with those also being the final five events of this season.

“Yes, the gap has shrunk a bit in the last few races,” he said.

“But for me, I have to focus on being as fast as I can and having good weekends. That’s all I am focused on and if I stay on top of that the rest of it doesn’t matter.

“I prefer to be the hunted than the hunter. Both have positives and negatives, and I know everyone likes the underdog comeback story, but I would rather lead because then I know I’ve been doing something right.”