McLaren Racing Points Finger at Competitors for Team-Mate Crash

McLaren F1 team leaders Zak Brown and Stella blamed rival drivers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, crashed into his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Hulkenberg.

The crash took both team drivers out of the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Zak Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told broadcasters that some of the racing at the start was "inexperienced", adding: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

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

McLaren clarified that the team principal was mentioning both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he decided to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.

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

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

Racer Comments After the Collision

Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both very far from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."

Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I was not at fault. Behind us events unfolded and I just was unfortunate and got hit because of it. I don't know. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."

Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the correct position on the inside, but some cars came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the center."

Hulkenberg, who had earned 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 aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."

"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 contact was unavoidable."

Post-Crash and Team Response

McLaren will analyze the incident with their drivers but not until the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.

Stella said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now focusing on fixing 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 compete, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."

"The points are the key thing, I prefer not to talk about mal-intent, just prudence. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."

Standings Impact

The sprint event was won by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind the Australian and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

The team boss said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive vehicle and two skilled drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race race by race.

US GP

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

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