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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident took both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "inexperienced", remarking: "Clearly Nico hit Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Go to the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

McLaren indicated that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

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

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

But he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

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

"We are in a strong position from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The race was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the title race race by race.

US GP

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

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