Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri have spoken out following their race-ending crash on the opening lap of the Austin sprint race.
The two title contenders found themselves out of the race after contact was made at the first corner.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown pinned the blame on Sauber's Nico Hulkenberg, who touched with Piastri as they battled for position.
The incident then pitched Piastri into Norris, resulting in terminal damage for both. Max Verstappen, who is seeking to make a late bid for the title, gained eight points on both drivers by winning the sprint.
Norris and Piastri were tight-lipped over the incident, with the former insisting there was little he could do to avoid it.
“No idea,” Norris said when asked to provide an account from his perspective.
“I spun, I got hit. I need to look at it a bit more. I just got taken out, not a lot I could have done.”
Championship leader Piastri explained he was trying to cut back on the exit of Turn 1 to get a run on Norris before he was collected by Hulkenberg.
“I’ve not seen the incident from the TV cameras, but, obviously I had a pretty good start, and we both went pretty deep into Turn 1,” Piastri said.
“I tried to cut back and got hit. Obviously not a great way to start the day, but I need to have another look.”
Brown added in his assessment that he does not expect the damage to impact Norris and Piastri getting back out on track for qualifying later today.
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