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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Stella attributed competitors for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both McLaren drivers from the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

The team team principal Andrea Stella added: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise fail to act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

The team suggested that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

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

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first challenged on the outer side on the uphill approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers 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 right place on the inside, but some cars came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a season-best fourth, said: "Major disappointment. 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 can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando 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 collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more care 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 championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the championship race by race.

US GP

17-19 October, with race from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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