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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella added: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

The team suggested that Stella was mentioning both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more prudence would be beneficial for everyone."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

US GP

October 17-19, with race from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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