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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to rival drivers for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting the Hulkenberg.

The collision took both team drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "inexperienced", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the possibility to compete."

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

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

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then cut back in an effort to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver 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 apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a season-best fourth, 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 Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will analyze the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume 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, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching 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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