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

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both McLaren drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "amateur hour", adding: "Clearly Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

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

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Enter the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

The team suggested that the team principal was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first challenged on the outer side on the uphill entry to the turn.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us things happened and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line 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 provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general 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 strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by the Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of Norris.

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

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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