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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

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

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, the team's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Clearly Nico drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to race."

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

McLaren indicated that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion 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 cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the uphill approach to the turn.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to collide 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 move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

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

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

"Oscar turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren 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: "Overall displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

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

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

Standings Impact

The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths show - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus 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 race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

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