McLaren Points Finger at Competitors for Team-Mate Crash

McLaren Formula 1 bosses Zak Brown and Stella blamed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by 22 points, crashed into his team-mate after colliding with the Nico Hulkenberg.

The collision eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Incident

Zak Brown, the team's CEO, told broadcasters that some of the driving at the front was "amateur hour", adding: "Clearly Nico drove into Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."

The team boss Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of experience fail to act with necessary care. Go to the first corner, ensure you don't damage competitors and continue."

McLaren clarified that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.

Differing Perspectives on the Crash

Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

Piastri had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

However he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to collide with the Sauber driver.

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect 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 were struck and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."

His teammate said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened 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 further back just being a bit careless and we are the consequence 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 changing direction and then I was there in the center."

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

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"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 turned in and the contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

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

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

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A little more care would be good for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of Norris.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers show - we lost eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two strong racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."

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

US GP

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

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