McLaren Blames Competitors for Piastri-Norris Collision

McLaren F1 team leaders Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to opposing racers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the beginning of the US GP sprint race.

The Australian driver, leading his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with the Hulkenberg.

The crash eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inner side of Hulkenberg.

Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash

Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to broadcasters that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", remarking: "Obviously Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was."

McLaren F1 boss Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we didn't have the chance to compete."

"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise fail to act with justful prudence. Enter the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and continue."

The team suggested that the team principal was referring to both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.

Contrasting Views on the Crash

Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass his teammate.

The Australian had a stronger launch than the Briton and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending entry to the turn.

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

Driver Reactions After the Incident

The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I did not see what happened, I attempted to move inside on Norris and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."

His teammate commented: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. 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 thoroughly. It's more drivers behind just being a bit reckless and we are the result of that."

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

The Sauber driver, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from the previous day in the trash. Just messy."

"Oscar turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and way out of Turn One but I can't just disappear."

"I had Alonso challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to provide room for him and then Oscar turned in and the contact was inevitable."

Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction

McLaren will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on the weekend.

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

"We are in a strong position from our performance point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."

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

Championship Implications

The race was won by the Verstappen, who closed in on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of the Briton.

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

The Red Bull driver said he was taking the championship race by race.

United States Grand Prix

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

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