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McLaren Formula 1 executives Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

The Australian driver, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident eliminated both McLaren drivers from the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to race."

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

McLaren suggested that the team principal was referring to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outside on the ascending approach to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate commented: "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 don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless 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 vehicles came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Oscar turned in pretty forcefully 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 couldn't see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will analyze the incident with their racers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating 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 competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and capitalise on our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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