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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Stella attributed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both McLaren drivers from the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Clearly Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

The team clarified that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded 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 people behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed 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 center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."

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

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A little more prudence would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths show - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. 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 main event from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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