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McLaren Formula 1 leaders Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

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 crash eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Nico hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to race."

"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with appropriate caution. Enter the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."

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

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to overtake Norris.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to hit Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more people further back 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 quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."

Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Piastri turned in pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

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

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

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

Stella said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now concentrating on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our performance."

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

Standings Impact

The race was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers show - we lost eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two skilled drivers. We look forward to 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, additional channels and Sports Extra 2; real-time updates on BBC Sport website and app