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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Andrea Stella attributed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both team drivers from the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Clearly Nico hit Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella added: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

The team indicated that Stella was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

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 effort to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted 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 commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, 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 place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

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

Stella said: "In general disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing 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 competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

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

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race race by race.

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with race from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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