One tire flies off the McLaren of Lando Norris after he collided with team-mate Oscar Piastri at the start of the United States Grand Prix short race.
McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Andrea Stella pointed to competitors for the incident between Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.
Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after hitting Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.
The crash took both team drivers out of the event, along with the Fernando Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.
Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash
Brown, McLaren Racing's CEO, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", adding: "Obviously Nico hit Oscar and he had no reason being where he was."
The team boss Andrea Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the opportunity to compete."
"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the first corner, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."
McLaren clarified that Stella was pointing to both Hulkenberg and Alonso.
Contrasting Views on the Crash
Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not shown enough awareness of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he chose to move inside to try to pass his teammate.
Piastri had a better start than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending approach to the corner.
However he then moved inside in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.
Racer Comments After the Incident
The McLaren driver said: "Less than perfect but I did not see what occurred, I tried to move inside on Norris and we were both very far from the apex and then were struck and it propelled me into Lando. Unfortunate."
Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. I need to look a bit more thoroughly. It's more drivers further back just being a bit reckless and we are the consequence of that."
Alonso said: "At one point I believed I was in the right place on the inner side, but some cars came very fast from the outside switching back and then I was there in the middle."
Hulkenberg, who had qualified a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."
"Piastri steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the inside line and exit of the first corner but I can't just disappear."
"I had Alonso attack on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the contact was inevitable."
Post-Crash and Team Response
McLaren will review the incident with their racers but only after the race weekend. Both vehicles needed significant repairs before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.
Stella said: "In general 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 event from there."
"Our team holds a competitive place from our performance point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."
"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for everyone."
Standings Impact
The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind the Australian and 33 adrift of Norris.
Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we missed out on eight points with both racers, but we concentrate on ourselves. We have a highly capable car and two skilled racers. We look forward to 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
Real-time analysis on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and extra coverage; live text updates on sports website and app
