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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both McLaren drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", adding: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky 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 vehicles came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

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

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The race was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

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

Verstappen said he was taking the title race 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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