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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

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

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", remarking: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

McLaren indicated that Stella was mentioning 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 chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

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

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence 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 quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

"Piastri turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

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

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, 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, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event 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 behind of Norris.

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

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

United States Grand Prix

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

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