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McLaren F1 team executives Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.

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

Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Incident

Zak Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "The reaction is that we are displeased that we didn't have the possibility to compete."

"It is unexpected that some racers with a lot of expertise don't act with necessary care. Enter the first corner, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."

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

Differing Perspectives on the Incident

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to move inside to try to overtake his teammate.

The Australian had a better start than the Briton and at first challenged on the outer side on the uphill entry to the corner.

But he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to make contact with Hulkenberg.

Racer Comments After the Incident

Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. A shame."

His teammate said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us things happened 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 people behind 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 correct position on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outer side switching back and then I was there in the center."

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

"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Piastri steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."

Aftermath and Team Response

The team will analyze the incident with their racers but not until the event weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 10 PM BST on the weekend.

Stella said: "Overall disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now concentrating on repairing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will resume the weekend from there."

"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to compete, race normally and utilize our capabilities."

"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more prudence would be good for all involved."

Championship Implications

The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.

Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths show - we lost eight points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."

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

US GP

17-19 October, with main event from 20:00 BST on the final day

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