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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

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

The team boss Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the possibility to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with justful prudence. Go to the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

The team indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and initially competed on the outside on the uphill entry to the turn.

But he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

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

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of Norris.

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

Verstappen 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

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