🔗 Share this article

McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella attributed competitors for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers out of the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "amateur hour", stating: "Obviously Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

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

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the exit, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect 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 Lando. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. 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 believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

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

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased 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 restart the weekend from there."

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

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

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we lost eight points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

US GP

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

Live commentary on sports radio, Sports Extra and extra coverage; real-time updates on sports website and app