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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Stella attributed rival drivers for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

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

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

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to compete."

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

McLaren indicated that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the uphill entry to the turn.

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

Driver Reactions After the Incident

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

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless 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 quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

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

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

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

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

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

"Championship points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

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

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

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

US GP

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

Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application