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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Stella blamed rival drivers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident took both team drivers from the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and carry on."

The team clarified that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he believed Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and at first challenged on the outside on the uphill approach to the corner.

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

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Norris. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people behind 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 right place on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the opportunity to compete, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground 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 show - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship one event at a time.

United States Grand Prix

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

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