The United States Grand Prix sprint race produced the most chaotic opening lap of the 2025 Formula 1 season - the primary source for a lot of winners and losers.
Loser: McLaren (double-DNF)

This entry was originally only going to apply to McLaren's drivers, as a double-DNF in a race that Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started second and third was pretty catastrophic even before you consider the avoidable nature of their wipeout and the needless extra pressure it's put on the title race.
But we're extending it to encompass McLaren's senior management team for the way it responded to the incident too.
CEO Zak Brown blamed Nico Hulkenberg overtly for having "no business being where he was", then team principal Andrea Stella doubled down post-race by extending the blame to "experienced drivers" (notice the plural, likely to account for Fernando Alonso) needing to drive with "more prudence".
That smacked of entitlement, was offensively condescending in tone - as if those "experienced drivers" should've been grateful just to be in those positions and avoided McLaren's drivers at all costs, even if McLaren's drivers made misjudgements (as at least one of them did) - and left a really sour taste.
Two words for everyone involved: do better. - Jack Cozens
Winner: Max Verstappen (1st)

Verstappen labelled his Austin sprint win, and the points gain after the McLaren wipeout, as "perfect".
Indeed, as he further reduced the gap to Piastri and Norris in the standings, he even cheekily suggested that it was a result that was nice for "everyone" - although maybe not "for them".
Despite holding off some brief close attention from George Russell to grab yet another sprint win that keeps him in the title hunt, Verstappen still thinks he needs more for Sunday, as he was not entirely happy with his Red Bull.
He knows he cannot rely on the McLarens taking each other out at Turn 1 again, and he senses his tyre degradation was too much in the sprint, so if Norris and Piastri had been there, they may have beaten him. - Jon Noble
Winner: Yuki Tsunoda (7th)

Two points earned, mostly off the back of a barnstorming opening lap, as Tsunoda picked his way through the chaos better than any other driver - even if that involved running straight over Hulkenberg's stricken front wing.
Tsunoda lost one place to Albon while trying to shake off that front wing but it was still a great reward for taking a big risk at Turn 1 - he was properly aggressive in cutting to the inside of the corner and without that move, he walks away pointless.
He's still facing a challenge to avoid another qualifying disappointment, given he's struggled on the softs all weekend, but this is a nice little bonus before an important test later. - Josh Suttill
Losers: Nico Hulkenberg + Fernando Alonso (13th / DNF)

The McLaren drivers will have plenty of other chances for victories and podiums, but they're far more rare for Hulkenberg and Alonso, who missed big chances for an upset through little fault of their own.
McLaren thinks both drivers were partly to blame for the opening corner chaos, but it's difficult to see what Hulkenberg and Alonso were supposed to have done differently. - JS
Winner: Carlos Sainz (3rd)

Sainz appeared to be the darling of the Austin crowd, based on the reception he got after a surprise podium finish in the sprint.
Having braked super late himself on the outside of Turn 1, knowing he had the benefit of clean air in a headwind, he realised that those on the inside who had left it even later were going to get all tangled up.
Going around all the chaos, he just managed to avoid the gravel in the runoff to haul his way up to third.
While he was pretty much in no-man's land on his run to the final podium spot, another top-three finish after Baku shows that he and Williams continue to gel - and that further cements his view that speed had never been a problem earlier in the year. - JN
Loser: Ollie Bearman (15th)

Bearman's attempt over the Haas team radio to disguise his surprise at being handed a penalty for going off-track in battle with Kimi Antonelli had the hallmarks of someone who knew he was bang to rights.
It wasn't a flagrant track-limits breach, but it was a clear one, so the 10-second penalty was just - even if it was a disappointing way for an entertaining scrap for the final point to be settled.
At least the penalty isn't set to edge Bearman closer to a race ban, as that would have felt unjust. - JC
Winner: Lewis Hamilton (4th)

OK, fourth behind a Williams is very little to celebrate for Hamilton on paper, but he's just scraped onto this list.
That's because Hamilton has had a slender (but clear) edge on his team-mate Charles Leclerc so far this weekend, which meant even when Leclerc slipped past Hamilton early on, Hamilton later dived back down the inside of Leclerc and retook fourth place.
Hamilton just needs to avoid a repeat of the China and Miami sprint weekends, where he started strongly but Leclerc then turned the tables on him in the grand prix proper.
That would back up a quietly solid run of form for Hamilton, who's looking like a far more consistent performer than he was earlier in the year. - JS
Loser: Lance Stroll (DNF)

Aston Martin's hopes of points were long gone by the time Stroll catapulted clumsily into Esteban Ocon at the first corner, so in one sense there was little lost in that moment.
But in another sense there was a huge amount lost: it put Aston Martin heavily on the back foot, now with two cars to repair in time for qualifying instead of one, and means one of those cars is handicapped a day before the grand prix itself, as Stroll will drop five places on the grid from wherever he qualifies for that crash.
No arguing with that: the punishment fits the crime. - JC
Winner: George Russell (2nd)

Russell found that the wrong place was the right place for Turn 1, as the wide line he took at the top of the hill helped him avoid the chaos of the pinchpoint at the apex.
Having felt on Friday that Mercedes was not on the front foot this weekend, but finding himself second after the opening-lap antics, he threw caution to the wind and launched a 'send it' moment early on to try to wrest the lead from Verstappen.
It didn't work out, but a run to second place was much better than he had probably expected after qualifying. - JN