George Russell punts Carlos Sainz out of US Grand Prix at the very first corner

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    Carlos Sainz’s United States Grand Prix was ended at the first corner after being rammed by George Russell.

    Pole-sitter Sainz had been beaten off the line by Max Verstappen and went to take the racing line, only to be punted by the Mercedes of Russell, who was trying to overtake Lewis Hamilton for third.

    Sainz limped back to the pits to retire while Russell was hit with a five-second penalty, which he took at his first pitstop. Russell soon overtook Aston Martin's Lance Stroll, who took advantage of the first-corner chaos, for third spot behind Verstappen and Hamilton.

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    Russell came on the radio and claimed "Sainz cut across me" but many fans felt the Mercedes man, whose car seemed to suffer damage too, deserved a harsher penalty following the collision which left Sainz’s Ferrari with a race-ending water leak.

    “Needs to be a bigger penalty if the other driver has to retire,” said one. Another added: “That has to be 10 seconds and points on his licence.”

    A third posted: “Ridiculous from Russell, gutted for Sainz. He’s had no luck at all.” Another agreed, adding: “Far too lenient, 10 or 15 seconds at least.” One fan asked: "5 seconds for running a guy out of the race?"

    The incident looked to have robbed fans of a fight for victory, with the other Ferrari of Charles Leclerc starting down the field after incurring an engine penalty.

    However, Leclerc was brought right back into contention by a race-curtailing spin for Alfa Romeo's Valtteri Bottas on lap 18 which brought out the safety car and allowed the Ferrari, which hadn't been in for fresh rubber, to take a cheap pitstop and move up to fourth.

    Tyre management will be key, with two-stop strategies expected all round.

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