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

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both team drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

The team indicated that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless 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 cars came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

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

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

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will analyze the incident with their drivers but not until the race weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general 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 resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

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

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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