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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Stella attributed competitors for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Clearly Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

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

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

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

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will review the incident with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

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

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The race was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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