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

The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after colliding with Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both McLaren drivers from the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "inexperienced", remarking: "Obviously Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team boss Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the opportunity to compete."

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

The team suggested that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and Alonso.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

However, former champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass Norris.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and at first challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.

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

Racer Comments After the Collision

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I tried to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris commented: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Further back things happened and I just was unfortunate and was struck because of it. I am unsure. I need to look a bit more carefully. It's more people further back just being a bit careless and we are the result of that."

The Aston Martin driver said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some vehicles came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully 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 was unable to see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Piastri turned in and the collision was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the crash with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall displeased but we accept it, we are now focusing on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

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

"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more prudence would be good for everyone."

Standings Impact

The race was won by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and 33 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 very competitive car and two skilled racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

October 17-19, with main event from 20:00 BST on Sunday

Live commentary on sports radio, Sports Extra and extra coverage; live text updates on BBC Sport website and mobile application