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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella pointed to rival drivers for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", stating: "Clearly Hulkenberg drove into Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

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

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Go to the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team indicated that Stella was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. 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 carefully. It's more people further back 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 inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

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

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. 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 consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was taking the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with race from 20:00 BST on the final day

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