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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella attributed rival drivers for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both McLaren drivers from the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "amateur hour", remarking: "Obviously Hulkenberg drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

McLaren clarified that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought 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 Norris and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look 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 thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

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

"The points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

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

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - 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 look forward to just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race one event at a time.

US GP

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

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