McLaren Blames Competitors for Piastri-Norris Collision
One tire flies off the car of Norris after he crashed into fellow driver Piastri at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.
McLaren Formula 1 bosses Brown and Andrea Stella attributed competitors for the crash between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the beginning of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.
Piastri, leading his teammate in the standings by 22 points, made contact with his fellow McLaren driver after making contact with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.
The incident forced out both McLaren drivers out of the event, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of Hulkenberg.
Team Executives Voice Frustration Over Crash
Brown, the team's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the racing at the start was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was."
McLaren F1 boss Andrea Stella added: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we were denied the chance to race."
"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, ensure you avoid harming competitors and carry on."
The team indicated that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.
Differing Perspectives on the Crash
Nevertheless, 1996 world champion Damon Hill, providing analysis for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he believed Piastri had not shown enough understanding of the risks of the first corner of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake Norris.
The Australian had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outside on the ascending entry to the turn.
But he then cut back in an attempt to get a advantage on his teammate on the way out, only to hit the Sauber driver.
Racer Comments After the Collision
Piastri said: "Less than perfect but I haven't seen what occurred, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. A shame."
Norris said: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back things happened 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 careless and we are the result of that."
The Aston Martin driver 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 changing direction and then I was there in the center."
Hulkenberg, who had qualified a best qualifying fourth, said: "Big frustrations. All the good work from yesterday in the trash. Just chaotic."
"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the undercut and way out of the first corner but I can't just disappear."
"I had Fernando challenge on the inside and I was unable to see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar turned in and the collision was unavoidable."
Post-Crash and Team Response
The team will analyze the crash with their racers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 10 PM BST on Saturday.
The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we take it on the chin, 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 performance point of view so I trust we have the possibility to race, compete fairly and utilize our capabilities."
"Championship points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about mal-intent, just caution. A bit more prudence would be good for all involved."
Standings Impact
The race was won by the Verstappen, who gained ground on both team racers in the standings - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and thirty-three behind of Norris.
Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a highly capable vehicle and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some normal racing."
Verstappen said he was taking the title race one event at a time.
United States Grand Prix
October 17-19, with race from 20:00 BST on Sunday
Live commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live, additional channels and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on BBC Sport website and app