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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to opposing racers for the crash between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with the Nico Hulkenberg.

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

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Nico drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

The team suggested that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded 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 further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

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

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more prudence would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

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

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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