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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision took both team drivers out of the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, stated to broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the chance to race."

"It's surprising 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 carry on."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, 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 review a bit more carefully. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

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

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and utilize our performance."

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths says - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

17-19 October, with main event from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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