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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Stella attributed competitors for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

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

The collision forced out both team drivers out of the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, make sure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

McLaren suggested that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to collide with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. 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."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

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

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit 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 wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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