🔗 Share this article

McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Stella blamed competitors for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

The collision took both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "inexperienced", adding: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

McLaren suggested that Stella was referring to both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

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

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage on Norris on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I tried 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 Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more people behind 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 changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."

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

"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

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

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more care would be beneficial for everyone."

Standings Impact

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

The team boss said: "The implication is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

Verstappen 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 the final day

Live commentary on sports radio, Sports Extra and extra coverage; live text updates on sports website and mobile application