🔗 Share this article

McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Nico hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise fail to act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. 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 carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

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

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

"Oscar turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "Overall displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by the Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the title race race by race.

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with main event from 8 PM BST on the final day

Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app