McLaren Racing Points Finger at Opposing Racers for Norris-Piastri Incident

McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella pointed to rival drivers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after colliding with the Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outside on the uphill entry to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I don't know. 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."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

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

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

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more prudence would be beneficial for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was taking the title race race by race.

US GP

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

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