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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to competitors for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after making contact with the Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Go to the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

McLaren indicated that Stella was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "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 am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought 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."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a season-best fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

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

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

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

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

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

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more prudence would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

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

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

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race one event at a time.

US GP

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

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