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McLaren F1 team bosses Zak Brown and Stella attributed competitors for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the US GP sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his team-mate after making contact 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 the Sauber driver.

McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", stating: "Clearly Nico made contact with Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Go to the first corner, make sure you don't damage other drivers and carry on."

McLaren clarified that Stella was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the uphill entry to the turn.

But he then moved inside in an effort to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Racer Comments After the Incident

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

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

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

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

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and exit of the first corner but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will review the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall displeased but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the event from there."

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

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

Standings Impact

The race was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the maths show - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

United States Grand Prix

October 17-19, with race from 8 PM BST on the final day

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