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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to opposing racers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both team drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Go to the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

McLaren suggested that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us 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 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 right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more prudence would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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