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McLaren F1 team bosses Brown and Andrea Stella attributed opposing racers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision took both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, the team's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Obviously Nico hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the opportunity to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team indicated that Stella was pointing to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

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

The Australian had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.

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

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. 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 inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. 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 attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the crash with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general disappointed 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 resume the weekend from there."

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - 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 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 standard competition."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on sports website and app