Max Verstappen took full advantage of a "demolition derby" on the first lap of the United States Sprint that astonishingly accounted for McLaren duo Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris.
It was a typical first-corner incident at the Circuit of the Americas, only on this occasion it had serious consequences for McLaren's title-chasing pair.
As Verstappen pulled away with ease from pole position, from third on the grid, Piastri initially had the run on second-placed Norris up the hill. But with the inside line, Norris had the edge into the sharp left-hander.
As Piastri then tried to cut back inside Norris out of the corner, he was hit by Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, who had started from a superb fourth. The impact resulted in a domino effect as the Australian collided into Norris, spinning the Briton around, minus his left-rear wheel.
Piastri's McLaren, meanwhile, sustained significant suspension damage, forcing him to pull over and retire.
After a lengthy safety car period, Verstappen went on to claim victory from Mercedes' George Russell, with William's Carlos Sainz third ahead of Ferrari duo Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc.
Result Sprint race - United States
Stroll wipes out Ocon in second massive smash
Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso was another casualty of what former F1 driver and Sky Sports F1 pundit Martin Brundle described as "a demolition derby".
The field following behind was forced to navigate its way through the carnage at speed, leading to a number of prominent positional changes, such as Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda jumping from 18th to seventh.
With so much debris littered across the circuit, the safety car was naturally summoned, leading to the remaining 17 cars touring behind for five laps before the race finally started on lap six.
Verstappen, though, did not have it all his own way as the Dutchman was challenged by Russell into Turn 12 at the end of the back straight on lap eight.
For a moment, it appeared as if Russell would take the lead but the Briton had carried too much speed into the corner, leading to a small lock up that forced Verstappen to run significantly wide to avoid a collision.
Despite complaining of poor rear performance from his RB21, Verstappen went on to take a crucial victory and further close the gap in the standings on championship leader Piastri to 55 points, and on second-placed Norris to 33 points.
On lap 15, Aston Martin's Lance Stroll wiped out Esteban Ocon in his Haas into Turn 1, leading to the race finishing behind another safety car.
Behind the Ferrari duo, Williams' Alex Albon was sixth and Tsunoda seventh.
Although Haas' Oliver Bearman took the chequered flag in eighth, he had been handed a 10-second penalty for going off the track and gaining an advantage in passing Mercedes' Kimi Antonelli before the Stroll/Ocon incident, leaving the young Italian to collect the final point.
Bearman, meanwhile, was relegated to 15th and last of those who finished.
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