🔗 Share this article

McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

The crash took both team drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

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

The team boss Andrea Stella added: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we were denied the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with necessary care. Go to the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

McLaren suggested that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

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

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver 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 corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. 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 drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a season-best fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Fernando challenge 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 unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will analyze the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general displeased 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 event from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I trust we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

Live commentary on sports radio, additional channels and extra coverage; real-time updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application