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McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Hulkenberg.

The crash took both McLaren drivers from the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "Our feeling 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 appropriate caution. 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 the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. A shame."

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

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

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside 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."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the incident with their drivers but only after 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 competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The race was taken by the Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

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

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

US GP

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

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