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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Stella attributed opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

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

The collision eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", remarking: "Obviously Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Go to the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

The team clarified that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending entry to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on his teammate 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 occurred, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, 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 trust we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was taking the championship race by race.

US GP

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

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