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

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both team drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated 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."

The team team principal Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with necessary care. Go to the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team indicated that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and at first challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the turn.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "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 carefully. It's more people behind 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 right place on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more prudence 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 standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, 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 approaching the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

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