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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed opposing racers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

The incident took both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, the team's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team suggested that Stella was mentioning both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

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

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outside on the uphill entry to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate said: "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 don't know. 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 vehicles came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now focusing on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by the 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 numbers says - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and Sports Extra 2; real-time updates on sports website and mobile application