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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after colliding with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision took both McLaren drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "amateur hour", stating: "Clearly Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and at first challenged on the outer side on the uphill entry to the corner.

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, 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."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso attack 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 unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased 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."

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

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground 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 show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

US GP

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

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