McLaren Racing Attributes Crash to Opposing Racers for Norris-Piastri Incident

McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Stella attributed rival drivers for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

Piastri, ahead of his teammate in the standings by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Nico Hulkenberg.

The incident forced out both team drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, the team's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the racing at the front was "unprofessional", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

The team team principal Andrea Stella commented: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the chance to race."

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

McLaren suggested that the team principal was mentioning both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Incident

However, former champion Damon Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed the Australian had not demonstrated enough awareness of the risks of the first corner of an Formula 1 event when he chose to cut back to try to pass his teammate.

Piastri had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outside on the ascending approach to the corner.

However he then cut back in an effort to get a advantage 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 happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it sent me into Norris. A shame."

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

Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a season-best fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."

"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out 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 wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was inevitable."

Post-Crash and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will review the crash with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.

The team principal said: "Overall disappointed but we accept it, we are now concentrating on fixing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."

"Our team holds a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I trust we have the possibility to compete, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."

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

United States Grand Prix

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

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