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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Stella blamed rival drivers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both team drivers from the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg drove into Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

The team clarified that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

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

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inside, but some cars came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

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

"Oscar turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

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

Aftermath and Team Response

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

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a strong position from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

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

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by the Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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