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McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Stella blamed rival drivers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to race."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Go to the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

The team clarified that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

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

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified 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 undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will review the incident with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on fixing 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 compete, compete fairly and capitalise on our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, 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 title race one event at a time.

US GP

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

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