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

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

The incident took both team drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to race."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a better start than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck 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 consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

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

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

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will analyze the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, 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 hope 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 beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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