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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

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

The crash took both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident

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

The team boss Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the opportunity to race."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

McLaren indicated that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a run on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed 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 competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to race, race normally and utilize our performance."

"The points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more prudence would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

US GP

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

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