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McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Stella blamed rival drivers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, commented to broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to compete."

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

The team suggested that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso 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 switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will review the incident with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the title race race by race.

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with race from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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