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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Andrea Stella blamed competitors for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with the Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the possibility to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

McLaren suggested that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first challenged on the outer side on the uphill entry to the corner.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect 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 were struck and it propelled me into Lando. 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 carefully. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inside, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

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

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"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 Piastri turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

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

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event 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 bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was taking the championship race by race.

US GP

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

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