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McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed rival drivers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both McLaren drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

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

The team boss Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with necessary care. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

McLaren indicated that Stella was mentioning both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to collide with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments 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 quite distant from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind 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 outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

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

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

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

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

Stella 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 very competitive car and two strong racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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