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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella pointed to competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, crashed into his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

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

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

The team suggested that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill entry to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some vehicles came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

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

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

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

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."

"We are in a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to compete, compete fairly and capitalise on our capabilities."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more prudence would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we lost eight points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the title race race by race.

US GP

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

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