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

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team team principal Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, make sure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

The team suggested that Stella was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, 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 Norris. A shame."

His teammate commented: "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 carefully. 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 right place on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the crash with their drivers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "In general 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 restart the event from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more prudence would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The race was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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