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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to race."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

McLaren indicated that Stella was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

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

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal 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 got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

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

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, 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 possibility to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

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

US GP

October 17-19, with race from 8 PM BST on the final day

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