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McLaren F1 team bosses Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after colliding with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both McLaren drivers from the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, the team's CEO, told Sky Sports 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 added: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team clarified that Stella was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the turn.

But he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

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

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward 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 couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will analyze the incident with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

The race was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths show - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

US GP

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

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