🔗 Share this article

McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Go to the initial turn, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

The team clarified that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

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 attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso 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 earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will analyze the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing 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 competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of Norris.

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

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the title race one event at a time.

US GP

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

Real-time analysis on sports radio, Sports Extra and extra coverage; real-time updates on sports website and mobile application