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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Stella attributed competitors for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

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

The incident took both team drivers from the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Clearly Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

The team suggested that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated 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 outside on the uphill approach to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

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

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inside, but some cars came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner 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 Piastri steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "Overall displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more care would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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