McLaren Blames Opposing Racers for Team-Mate Crash

McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella attributed opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "unprofessional", remarking: "Clearly Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Go to the initial turn, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

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

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and initially competed on the outer side on the uphill approach to the corner.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more people behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

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

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

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

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

The team principal said: "In general disappointed 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 hope we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race race by race.

US GP

October 17-19, with main event from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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