Zak Brown takes surprising U-Turn after blaming Nico Hulkenberg for McLaren's double DNF in US GP Sprint

Zak Brown has backtracked on his comments about Nico Hulkenberg's 'amateur-hour driving', which he felt caused McLaren's double DNF in the United States Grand Prix Sprint race. The multi-car incident took place on the opening lap of the sprint race on Saturday.

Max Verstappen, who started on pole, got a great start and held onto P1. Between the McLaren duo, Oscar Piastri, who started in P3, got a better start than teammate Lando Norris in P2, and tentatively gained a position on the outside. However, going into Turn 1, the championship leader had to attempt an overtake by slowing down and going down the inside of his teammate.

However, Nico Hulkenberg, who started in P4, had already reached the apex behind Piastri. The Sauber driver's front wing made contact with Piastri's left rear, who went momentarily airborne before colliding and spinning teammate Norris around, who lost his rear left tire.

While it looked like a racing incident, with the stewards taking no action, McLaren boss Zak Brown slammed the "amateur-hour driving" that destroyed his team's race and blamed Hulkenberg, claiming the Sauber driver had "no business being there" at the apex.

Zak Brown at the F1 United States Grand Prix - Practice and Spring Qualifying - Source: Getty

However, a few hours later, Brown retracted that statement while speaking with Sky F1 and cleared the experienced Hulkenberg of any wrongdoing.

"I've reviewed it (and) I think I've changed my view," the McLaren Racing CEO said via The Race. "I can't really put that on Nico. In the heat of the moment, obviously pretty bothered with what I saw there, a lot of incidents there in Turn 1, but I don't think that's on Nico."

Oscar Piastri's assessment of the dire incident was that there was enough space in that corner for an overtake, but because he "got hit," it prematurely ended their race. Lando Norris took no blame for the incident, claiming he did "nothing wrong."

Nico Hulkenberg issues a blunt response to McLaren after Zak Brown and Andrea Stella's harsh comments

Nico Hulkenberg at the F1 United States Grand Prix - Sprint & Qualifying - Source: Getty

After Zak Brown blamed Nico Hulkenberg for the US GP Sprint race incident, McLaren team principal Andrea Stella doubled down on those comments. He found it "surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with more prudence."

Hulkenberg shared his side of the story shortly after the sprint race, saying:

"He (Oscar Piastri) wanted to get the undercut and the run on the exit of Turn 1. But I was kind of there, and I can't just disappear. And I had Fernando attack me on the inside, and I couldn't see him anymore. I saw in the peripheral vision that he dived in, but then, you don't see a car anymore. So I kind of wanted to let space for him in case he didn't have it under control. And then Oscar turns in, and yeah, the contact was inevitable."

The incident caused three DNFs, including the two McLaren drivers and Fernando Alonso, who had started in P6. Hulkenberg damaged his front wing but continued the race after pitting to get a new one fitted on his Sauber C45.

Max Verstappen, who won the Sprint race, qualified on pole for the feature race on Sunday, while Lando Norris qualified in P2 and Oscar Piastri further back in P5. The Zak Brown-led McLaren could be in trouble if Verstappen continues this newfound form to potentially win his fifth consecutive F1 title.

Edited by Yash Kotak