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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella pointed to competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, leading Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, crashed into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash took both McLaren drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the chance to race."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Enter the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and carry on."

McLaren indicated that the team principal was pointing to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a better start than the Briton and at first competed on the outside on the uphill approach to the turn.

But he then cut back in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I tried to cut back on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back 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 careless and we are the result of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very quickly from the outside 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 trash. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the incident with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella 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 restart the event from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our performance point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The race was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two skilled drivers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was taking the title race one event at a time.

US GP

October 17-19, with main event from 20:00 BST on the final day

Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application