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McLaren F1 team leaders Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision took both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico 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 opportunity to race."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

McLaren suggested that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, 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 was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look 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 correct position on the inner side, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the incident with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume 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, compete fairly and capitalise on our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we lost eight points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the championship one event at a time.

US GP

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

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