One tire flies off the car of Norris after he made contact with team-mate Piastri at the beginning of the US GP short race.
McLaren Formula 1 leaders Zak Brown and Stella pointed to rival drivers for the incident between Piastri and Lando Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint race.
The Australian driver, ahead of his teammate in the championship by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after colliding with Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg.
The incident eliminated both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with the Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.
McLaren Leaders Voice Frustration Over Incident
Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, told Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "amateur hour", remarking: "Clearly Hulkenberg made contact with Piastri and he had no business being where he was."
McLaren F1 boss Stella added: "The reaction is that we are disappointed that we were denied the possibility to compete."
"It's surprising that some racers with a lot of experience don't act with appropriate caution. Go to the first corner, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."
McLaren clarified that the team principal was pointing to both the Sauber driver and the Aston Martin driver.
Contrasting Views on the Crash
However, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought the Australian had not demonstrated enough understanding of the dangers of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to cut back to try to overtake his teammate.
The Australian had a stronger launch than Norris and initially challenged on the outer side on the ascending approach to the turn.
However he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on Norris on the exit, only to make contact with the Sauber driver.
Driver Reactions 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 quite distant from the apex and then got a hit and it sent me into Norris. Unfortunate."
Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I was not at fault. Behind us 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 people 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 inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outer side changing direction and then I was there in the middle."
The Sauber driver, who had earned a best qualifying fourth, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the trash. Just chaotic."
"Piastri turned in pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and way out of Turn One but I cannot vanish."
"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I aimed to leave space for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was inevitable."
Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction
The team will analyze the crash with their drivers but only after the event weekend. Both vehicles needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on the weekend.
The team principal said: "In general disappointed but we accept it, we are now focusing on fixing the cars, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the event from there."
"Our team holds a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to race, race normally and capitalise on our capabilities."
"The points are the most important thing, I prefer not to talk about bad intentions, just prudence. A bit more care would be beneficial for all involved."
Standings Impact
The sprint event was taken by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the championship - he is now fifty-five points behind Piastri and 33 behind of Norris.
Stella said: "The implication is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong drivers. We anticipate just some standard competition."
Verstappen said he was taking the championship race by race.
United States Grand Prix
17-19 October, with race from 8 PM BST on Sunday
Live commentary on sports radio, additional channels and extra coverage; live text updates on sports website and mobile application
