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McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Andrea Stella attributed rival drivers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

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

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

McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, make sure you don't damage competitors and continue."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

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

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the way out, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I tried to cut back on Norris and we were both quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Lando. A shame."

Norris commented: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result 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 quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the good work from the previous day in the bin. Just messy."

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One 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 steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

The team will review the crash with their drivers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

The team principal said: "In general displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we lost eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to just some normal racing."

Verstappen said he was approaching the championship race by race.

US GP

October 17-19, with main event from 8 PM BST on Sunday

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