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McLaren F1 team leaders Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", remarking: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

McLaren suggested that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

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

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, 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 inside line and exit of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust 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 bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

US GP

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

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