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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella attributed rival drivers for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, crashed into his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both team drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

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

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the initial turn, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the turn.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a advantage on Norris on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I tried to move inside 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."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, 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 people further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

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

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

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

"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and utilize our performance."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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