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McLaren F1 team leaders Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both team drivers from the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team team principal Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the first corner, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

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

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. 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."

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

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the incident with their drivers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, compete fairly and capitalise on our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by the Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

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

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

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