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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the incident between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both team drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team team principal Andrea Stella added: "The reaction 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 justful prudence. Enter the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

McLaren suggested that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and initially competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the way out, only to collide with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit careless 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 inside, but some cars came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

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

"I had Alonso attack on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"We are in 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 key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

Stella said: "The consequence 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 look forward to just some normal racing."

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

US GP

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

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