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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella pointed to opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The crash took both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "amateur hour", stating: "Clearly Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

McLaren suggested that Stella was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

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

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

"Piastri turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and exit of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

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

The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now focusing on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

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

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event 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 numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was approaching the title race race by race.

US GP

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

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