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McLaren F1 team bosses Brown and Andrea Stella blamed competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both team drivers out of the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, stated to broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team team principal Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

The team clarified that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the uphill entry to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on Norris 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 happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence 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 outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully 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 was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

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

Verstappen said he was taking the championship one event at a time.

US GP

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

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