TENSION AT MCLAREN: TEAM BOSS SLAMS COSTLY PIASTRI–NORRIS COLLISION
McLaren boss Zak Brown slammed "amateur" driving after a first-corner crash wiped out both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris in the US GP Sprint, blaming Nico Hülkenberg for the collision.
Following a costly incident that eliminated both of his drivers, including Australian Oscar Piastri, at the US Grand Prix, McLaren manager Zak Brown has gone into overdrive.
At the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, the sprint race began with chaos on the first corner.
Oscar Piastri's McLaren was struck by Nico Hülkenberg, which caused the Australian to slide off the track.
After that, Piastri's vehicle collided with teammate Lando Norris, seriously damaging both McLarens.
Due to his car's inability to continue, Norris was forced to retire right away. Piastri was unable to rejoin and hobbled back to the pits.
Shortly after the start, the incident forced both McLarens out of the sprint.
Both McLaren drivers were eliminated during the ruckus at the first turn of the USGP Sprint race.
Oscar Piastri, an Australian driver, was one of the drivers eliminated. He then collided with teammate Lando Norris.
The crash was reported as a racing event by race control, and no sanctions were imposed.
The event infuriated team manager Zak Brown, who placed the full blame on Hülkenberg.
"That was awful." "There, neither of our drivers is at fault," Brown stated.
"Those drivers up there in the front are driving like amateurs; they hit two men."
"I would like to see the replay again, but it is obvious that Nico Hulkenberg struck Oscar, who had no business there, and he ran into his left rear tyre."
"I hope it is very easy to fix, as it appears to have only included suspension damage."
Andrea Stella, the principal of the McLaren team, also scolded Hulkenberg.
He stated, "Oddly, some experienced drivers do not act more credibly—go to the first corner, make sure you do not hurt competitors, and then carry on."
Zak Brown, the manager of McLaren, had a negative opinion of the event and accused German driver Nico Hulkenberg of being responsible for the collision.
Norris attempted to rejoin the race, but his McLaren sustained too much damage, and he was ejected.
Overall, we are disappointed, but we accept it. There is a lot to do, so we will concentrate on fixing the cars.
After that, we shall start the weekend over. When it comes to competitiveness, we are in a solid position. We hope that we will be able to race regularly and benefit from our performance.
But after the crash, Piastri was more composed.
"It is a shame," he remarked, "because I tried to cut back on Lando—we were both so far from the apex and then got struck, and he obviously sent me into Lando."
Norris, his rival teammate, also accused Hulkenberg of being the cause of the collision.
The 25-year-old remarked, "I mean, what was I meant to do in that—I just got whacked."
I did not do anything improper. Things happened further back, and I simply got unfortunate and got whacked as a result.
"I need to take a closer look. I am not sure." We are the result of more individuals in the past being a little irresponsible.
Everyone at McLaren has criticised Hulkenberg for his actions that led to the incident, yet the race stewards did not punish him.
The latest altercation between the rival drivers could endanger their hopes of winning the Formula One championship.
Late in the race, Norris tried to pass Piastri at the Canadian Grand Prix, but he crashed into his teammate's vehicle and had to retire. Despite his injuries, Piastri persisted and increased his championship lead.
Norris apologised to Piastri and the team for his mistakes.
McLaren reaffirmed the internal team policy of no touch between colleagues and called the incident "not acceptable".
Norris then attempted an aggressive move at the 2025 Singapore Grand Prix that caused contact with Piastri and included a third driver.
Piastri was upset and sent some scathing radio messages, and team management mentioned that Norris might face "repercussions."repercussions".
Sprint winner Verstappen has reduced the gap to 55 points in third place, while Piastri leads the Drivers' Championship with 336 points, followed by Norris, 22 points in second.
LANDO NORRIS SINGLE: F1 CHAMPION CONFIRMS SPLIT FROM MAGUI CORCEIRO IN LEAKED VIDEO
F1 heartbreak: Analyse Lando Norris's split from Magui Corceiro, the "single man" leak, and their on-off relationship history.
Looks like Formula One world champion Lando Norris and his supermodel girlfriend, Magui Corceiro, have split up. The two started dating in 2023 and had a pretty on-and-off thing. She was right there with him when he won the title in Abu Dhabi – definitely an emotional night for both of them.
But now, it seems like it’s over. According to the Sun, a TikTok video caught Norris telling Carlos Sainz Jr that he’s “a single man". The audio’s not great, but you can hear Sainz asking if he and Magui are okay, and Lando just says, “No,” then adds that he’s single. This happened during pre-season testing in Bahrain while the drivers were getting their photos taken.
Magui, who’s also an actress from Portugal, used to date footballer Joao Felix before Lando. She and Norris broke up in 2024 and got back together, but it looks like they’ve called it quits again. People close to them say there’ve been signs for a while; things changed after Lando’s big championship win. The most obvious clue? Magui wasn’t at Lando’s big thank-you party in Bahrain, even though everyone else was there. Naturally, that got people talking.
Back in December, Magui broke down in tears after Norris won the world championship. She gave an interview to TV Guia, saying how happy they both were and how, in that moment, she forgot about the cameras. It all seemed pretty solid then.
Magui’s got a huge social following – around 800,000 fans on TikTok – and she’s done everything from acting in Portuguese dramas to modelling for brands like Intimissimi and Alo Yoga. She was even on Portugal’s Dancing with the Stars in 2020 and co-founded the eco swimwear brand Missus. She’s graced Vogue Portugal, too.
Norris himself talked about Magui in Vogue, saying they met a few years ago but only got together more recently. He called her “down to earth” and said he can just be himself around her. Apparently, he kept trying to get her into golf, but she hated it.
Neither of them has officially announced the breakup, but at this point, it looks like they’ve gone their separate ways.
DISASTER WARNING: OSCAR PIASTRI FEARS 2026 RACE STARTS COULD LEAD TO MULTI-CAR GRID ACCIDENTS
Oscar Piastri warns of chaos at the 2026 start! Discover why the new rules are a "recipe for disaster" and how McLaren found "warp speed."
Oscar Piastri thinks there’s a lot of luck involved in getting a good start these days. Pre-season testing in Bahrain really made it clear that these new 2026 F1 rules have turned race starts into a much bigger headache.
He’s spoken up about this before, especially since so many teams and drivers are running into fresh problems under the new regs. The big one? F1 dropped the MGU-H from the engine formula, and suddenly, starts just aren’t as smooth. It’s a mess.
After last week’s first official test in Bahrain, Piastri didn’t sugarcoat it. He called the 2026 start a “recipe for disaster” because of how wildly different every driver’s launch is. Even the FIA and F1 noticed, so they decided to test out a longer starting procedure during the second test.
Here’s what they did: during the second test, they delayed the starting lights, giving drivers more time to spool up their turbos. Ferrari’s 2026 engine features a smaller turbo, allowing its drivers to maintain lower revs for longer periods. Others? They’re sitting there for up to ten seconds, just waiting.
Piastri says the new procedures and the extra week of testing in Bahrain helped a bit; things aren’t quite as all over the place now. But he’s honest: there’s still a ton of luck involved if you want to get a clean launch and avoid turbo lag or wheelspin.
Holding high revs to prime the turbo, now that the MGU-H is gone, is just one of the traps drivers can fall into. Piastri figures it’s going to take a while before all 22 drivers on the grid are nailing their starts every time.
He summed it up at the press conference in Bahrain: “Mine yesterday wasn’t so bad. I was last, but I also overtook four cars. There’s still a lot of luck involved, and we’re learning what makes a good start and what makes a bad one.
“There are a few pitfalls you can run into that cause problems. Managing the energy and the whole procedure – that’s one thing.
“The way we start is just totally different from last year. It’s trickier across the board. Some drivers are handling it; some just aren’t.”
On the other hand, McLaren looked like they were getting the hang of it by the last day of testing. Jolyon Palmer, watching from the sidelines, was impressed by Piastri’s practice start but even more blown away by Lando Norris.
Palmer thought McLaren had cracked the code. On Friday, Piastri shot off the line in the morning, but Norris outdid everyone in the final session. Palmer joked that Norris hit “warp speed".
He said on the F1 broadcast, “Warp speed, see you mate! That’s a brilliant start from Lando. McLaren is there. I’ve seen it all day. Oscar got a great start. In the pit lane, it looks good.
“I’d love to see that next to the Ferrari, honestly, because it’s really impressive. Their start is much better than Red Bull’s. I’d say it’s even better than Mercedes.”