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

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both team drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

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

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

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

The team principal 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 resume the event from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A little more care would be good for everyone."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

US GP

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

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