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McLaren Formula 1 executives Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, leading Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

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

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

The team indicated that Stella was referring to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, 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 review a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

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

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

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

US GP

17-19 October, with main event from 8 PM BST on the final day

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