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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Obviously Nico hit Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

The team clarified that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars 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 place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

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

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

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

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the title race one event at a time.

US GP

17-19 October, with race from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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