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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", remarking: "Clearly Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to compete."

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

The team clarified that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

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

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri 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 sent me into Norris. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded 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 consequence of that."

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

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday 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 cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso 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 contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

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

Verstappen said he was taking the championship race by race.

US GP

17-19 October, with race from 20:00 BST on the final day

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