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McLaren Formula 1 executives Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the opportunity 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 don't damage other drivers and carry on."

The team clarified that the team principal was referring to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to pass Norris.

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

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought 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 middle."

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

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the crash with their drivers but not until the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we accept it, 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 strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and utilize our performance."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by the Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

United States Grand Prix

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

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