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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Stella pointed to opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

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

The team clarified that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the uphill approach to the turn.

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

Racer Comments 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 quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back 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 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 cars came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. 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 attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

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

The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more care would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

The race was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

October 17-19, with race from 8 PM BST on the final day

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