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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Stella pointed to competitors for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting the Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both McLaren drivers from the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Clearly Nico hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

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

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

The team indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

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

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and initially competed on the outside on the uphill entry to the corner.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

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

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on fixing the vehicles, 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 hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

US GP

17-19 October, with race from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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