🔗 Share this article

McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to competitors for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision took both team drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to race."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with necessary care. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

McLaren suggested that Stella was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look 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 believed I was in the correct position 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 qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Piastri steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

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

Stella said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The race was won by the Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

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

US GP

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

Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and extra coverage; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app