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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Stella pointed to opposing racers for the crash between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both team drivers out of the race, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Nico drove into Piastri and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to race."

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

McLaren indicated that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and initially competed on the outside on the uphill entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind 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 correct position on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Piastri steered inward and the contact was unavoidable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased 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 restart the event from there."

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

"The points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

The race was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.

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

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

United States Grand Prix

17-19 October, with race from 20:00 BST on Sunday

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