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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

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

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

The team indicated that Stella was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough awareness 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 better start than Norris and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

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

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

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

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and utilize our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more prudence would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

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

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

US GP

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

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