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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to rival drivers 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 making contact with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both team drivers from the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

The team indicated that the team principal was referring to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

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

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. 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 believed I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to race, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more prudence would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong drivers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with main event from 8 PM BST on the final day

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