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McLaren F1 team executives Zak Brown and Stella attributed rival drivers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting the Hulkenberg.

The crash forced out both McLaren drivers from the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "amateur hour", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of experience 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 the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the corner.

But he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Collision

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I did not see 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 Lando. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit careless 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 cars came very fast from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

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

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

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

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, 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 hope we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle 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

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

Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; real-time updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application