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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both team drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

The team indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

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

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

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

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

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

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and utilize our performance."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more prudence would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 behind of the Briton.

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

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

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