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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

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

The team team principal Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the possibility to race."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

McLaren indicated that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill entry to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

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

"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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