As Verstappen led comfortably away from pole, Piastri challenged Norris for second place on the uphill run to the wide first corner.
With Norris holding the preferred inside line, Piastri yielded as they entered the braking zone but, as the Australian attempted to cut back underneath the sister car to try and attack on the corner exit, disaster struck when he made contact with Nico Hulkenberg’s Sauber on his inside.
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The collision pitched Piastri’s car up onto two wheels and sent him straight into Norris, causing Sprint-ending damage to both cars.
With his two drivers ahead of him in the championship wiped out immediately, Verstappen survived a fierce initial challenge from Mercedes’ George Russell after a lap-one Safety Car – which at one point saw both drivers run off track as the Briton lunged for the lead – to win the Sprint for the third consecutive year in Austin.
With the McLarens not scoring, Verstappen took the full eight points for the victory out of Piastri’s lead, with the reigning four-time champion now 55 points back on the championship summit having been a mammoth 104 behind just four races ago.
Williams’ Carlos Sainz profited from the first-corner carnage to move up to third and stayed there ahead of Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton, who overtook team-mate Charles Leclerc for fourth after dropping behind the sister Ferrari at the start.
The race finished behind the Safety Car after a collision at the first corner between Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Haas’ Esteban Ocon.
Alex Albon was sixth for Williams ahead of Red Bull’s Yuki Tusnoda, who recovered well from his early Sprint Qualifying exit on Friday, in seventh and Kimi Antonelli in eighth.
Oliver Bearman finished ahead of Antonelli on the road but the Haas driver was handed a 10-second penalty for overtaking the Mercedes off the track. With the field crossing the line nose to tail under Safety Car conditions, Bearman dropped to 15th and the final classified finisher.
More to follow…
Sky Sports F1’s live United States GP schedule
Saturday October 18
9pm: United States GP Qualifying build-up*
10pm: UNITED STATES GP QUALIFYING*
12am (Sunday morning): Ted’s Qualifying Notebook*
Sunday October 19
6.30pm: Grand Prix Sunday: United States GP build-up*
8pm: THE UNITED STATES GRAND PRIX*
10pm: Chequered Flag: United States GP reaction
11pm: Ted’s Notebook
*also live on Sky Sports Main Event
Formula 1 is in North America for the United States Grand Prix in Austin this weekend, live on Sky Sports F1. Stream Sky Sports with NOW – no contract, cancel anytime
