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

Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "amateur hour", adding: "Clearly Nico drove into Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Collision

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

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence of that."

The Aston Martin driver 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 changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside 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 unavoidable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

The team will review the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars 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 fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more care would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

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

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

United States Grand Prix

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

Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; real-time updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application