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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both team drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "inexperienced", stating: "Clearly Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team team principal Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the uphill approach to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both very far 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 did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the result 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 qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "In general displeased 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 event from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"The 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 sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

Verstappen 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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