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McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed competitors for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico hit Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea 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 expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

McLaren indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose 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 entry to the turn.

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

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

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

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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 restart the event from there."

"We are in a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."

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

Standings Impact

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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