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

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both McLaren drivers from the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

The team suggested that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "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 don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

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

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A little more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

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

Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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