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McLaren F1 team bosses Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to rival drivers for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the championship by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both McLaren drivers from the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

McLaren indicated that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially competed on the outside on the uphill entry to the turn.

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

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 the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and utilize our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the championship one event at a time.

United States Grand Prix

October 17-19, with race from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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