Wheatley: Brown apologized to Hulkenberg after COTA Sprint drama

Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley has revealed that McLaren boss Zak Brown personally apologised to him and to Nico Hulkenberg following a heated misunderstanding over the opening-lap mayhem in Saturday’s Sprint event at the US Grand Prix.

The incident at the Circuit of the Americas saw championship contender Oscar Piastri attempt a cutback on teammate and title rival Lando Norris at Turn 1, only to be nudged into Norris after contact with Hulkenberg’s Sauber, which was sandwiched between Piastri and Fernando Alonso’s Aston Martin at the apex.

While race stewards ultimately deemed it a racing incident, Brown initially criticised Hulkenberg on Sky Sports F1, describing his driving as “amateur” and claiming he “had no business being where he was.”

However, after reviewing further footage and speaking directly with Sauber team members, Brown retracted his remarks and personally reached out.

“Zak sent me an apology really quickly afterwards. He apologised personally to Nico,” Wheatley confirmed.

Passion In the Heat of the Moment

A lenient Wheatley rightly stressed that such reactions are simply part of the sport’s intensity.

“Look, this is a passionate sport, I love the passion. You've got two cars, you're fighting for a world championship, and two cars get taken out in the first corner,” he explained.

“It's easy to think that it's somebody else's fault sometimes and you react with passion. I think he probably did that to Sky TV - the heat of the moment and the emotion.

“But I've known Zak a really long time. He's a racer. We're all racers and we sorted it out afterwards.”

Although Hulkenberg avoided retirement, the incident robbed him of a potential points haul, leaving him to finish 13th in the sprint.

The German driver, however, bounced back on Sunday with a stellar eighth-place finish – his first points since a podium at the British Grand Prix in July – elevating him to ninth in the championship above Isack Hadjar.

Hulkenberg’s Positive Impact

Wheatley highlighted the veteran driver’s consistency and positive impact over Sauber’s Austin weekend.

“We had a bit of a Nico Hulkenberg effect this weekend,” he said. “For Nico, what an incredible race weekend.

“I think all the people that had criticism about him, his qualifying performance, various other criticisms over the last few months, I think we've probably got reason to have another look at that because he just was flawless from the very first lap in FP1.

“You can't help but wonder what the sprint would have brought if there wasn't that incident in Turn 1. I'm fairly sure we'd have had some serious points out of that as well and then today, look at him, he just drove a flawless race again.”

For Sauber, the weekend was a reminder of Hulkenberg’s enduring skill and professionalism, even amid high-profile misunderstandings.

And for McLaren, Brown’s apology helped mend bridges, ensuring that Turn 1 drama doesn’t overshadow the ongoing championship battle.

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