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McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella attributed rival drivers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Obviously Hulkenberg drove into Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the possibility to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with necessary care. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

McLaren clarified that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and at first challenged on the outside on the uphill approach to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant 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. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very fast 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 bin. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on fixing the vehicles, 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 trust we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we lost eight points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was taking the title race one event at a time.

United States Grand Prix

October 17-19, with main event from 20:00 BST on the final day

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