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McLaren F1 team leaders Brown and Stella attributed opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both team drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg drove into Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

The team clarified that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

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

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

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what happened, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. 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 carefully. 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 believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just messy."

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

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

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more prudence would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 behind of Norris.

The team boss said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was taking the title race race by race.

US GP

October 17-19, with main event from 8 PM BST on the final day

Live commentary on sports radio, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application