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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella blamed rival drivers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting the Hulkenberg.

The collision forced out both McLaren drivers from the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", stating: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella added: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

The team clarified that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people behind just being a bit careless 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 quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a season-best fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Oscar turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and exit of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

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

Stella said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing 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 capitalise on our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The race was won by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

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

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

US GP

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

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