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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both McLaren drivers from the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Hulkenberg drove into Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

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

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. 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 don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless 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 inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"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 Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and utilize our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we missed out on 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 normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with race from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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