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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both team drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "inexperienced", adding: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

The team team principal Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have 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 avoid harming competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and at first challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

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

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three behind of Norris.

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

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

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