Oscar Piastri in Austin - Photo: Race Pictures

F1 LIVE | Brundle finds Sprint crash culprit, Wolff praises Verstappen

08:00, 23 Oct

byLuke-John Buckle

Hello and welcome to F1 LIVE, GPblog's daily live blog, where you'll learn of the latest F1 stories of Wednesday, 22nd October 2025.

Brundle feels Piastri is at fault for Austin crash

Martin Brundle feels the Formula 1 championship leader, Oscar Piastri, was 'predominantly' at fault for the chaos on the opening lap of the Sprint at the United States Grand Prix.

Piastri made contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg at Turn 1, which caused the Australian's car to bounce into his teammate, Lando Norris.

This caused both McLarens to retire as their title rival Max Verstappen went on to take full advantage and win the Sprint.

Verstappen has now closed the gap to Piastri to just 40 points with five rounds to go. The Dutchman has also won three of the last four events.

Brundle explained in his column on the Sky Sports website: “The Piastri crash in turn one was unfortunate, but I believe he was predominantly to blame. This corner rises steeply by 40 metres, is very wide at the entry point but narrow at the apex, and only a little wider on the exit, albeit with some scruffy run-off space if required.

“This zone invites and promotes contact, never more so than at the start when the pack is close.”

Oscar Piastri in the US paddock - Photo: Race Pictures

Wolff adamant Verstappen is more prepared mentally for title fight

Verstappen is pushing for his fifth consecutive world championship and has the momentum with him in the battle.

The Dutchman has been applying more pressure to McLaren since the summer break and dominated the United States Grand Prix.

Verstappen took pole position in Austin and benefited from Ferrari's Charles Leclerc getting into second place ahead of Norris.

Mercedes CEO and team principal Toto Wolff feels that Verstappen has a key psychological edge over McLaren's drivers.

He told GPblog: "I've been in a similar situation with two drivers fighting for a championship, and the threat of another one catching up. Back in the day, it was Max, I believe, and then it was Sebastian [Vettel] in that hunt.

“The underdog always has a little bit of an easier psychological advantage because of the probability. The odds are definitely against Max. If you look at the probability, that’s very low, one DNF can change everything, and I think that affects the driving as well.”

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https://open.spotify.com/episode/17ayMiJpI7mkUctLzEjwEb?go=1&sp_cid=2b424f0db857a5c71327092af2fd1941&utm_source=embed_player_v&utm_medium=desktop&nd=1&dlsi=710b44b7afad41de