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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to opposing racers for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading Norris in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both McLaren drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, commented to broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", stating: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

The team indicated that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and at first challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless 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 inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

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

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One 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 leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating 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 performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and utilize our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths show - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with race from 8 PM BST on the final day

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