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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed rival drivers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both team drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "unprofessional", stating: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with necessary care. Go to 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 Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill approach to the turn.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver 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 corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, 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 look a bit more carefully. It's more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general disappointed 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 restart the event from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our capabilities."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more prudence would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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