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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

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

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

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with necessary care. Go to the initial turn, ensure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

McLaren suggested that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially competed on the outer side on the uphill approach to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded 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 people behind just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the incident with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

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

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

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

Standings Impact

The race was won by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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