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McLaren F1 team bosses Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after making contact with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash took both team drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

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

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

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, ensure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."

The team indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an effort 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 very far from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate said: "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 am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the middle."

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

"Piastri steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso attack on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I wanted to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

The team will analyze the crash with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

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

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I trust we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our performance."

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's 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 implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the championship race by race.

US GP

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

Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app