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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers from the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "inexperienced", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

The team suggested that Stella was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

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

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

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

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"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 turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

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

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

"We are in a strong position from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

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

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two skilled racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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