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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to competitors for the incident between Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both team drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

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

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella added: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver 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 apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

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

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

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

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

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

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

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

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race 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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