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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash took both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Clearly Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

The team clarified that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the turn.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back just being a bit reckless and we are the result 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 fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

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

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

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

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

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 the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race one event at a time.

United States Grand Prix

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

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