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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both team drivers out of the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Obviously Nico drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with necessary care. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that the team principal was mentioning both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the uphill entry to the turn.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless 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 outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

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

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths says - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

US GP

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

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