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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Stella pointed to competitors for the incident between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Obviously Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

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

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the uphill approach to the corner.

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

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind 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 cars came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

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

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

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

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

US GP

17-19 October, with main event from 20:00 BST on the final day

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