Zak Brown blasts 'amateur hour' after double McLaren DNF

McLaren CEO Zak Brown has criticised Nico Hulkenberg after a lap one crash in the sprint race left both title contenders eliminated.

Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri started the race from second and third, respectively, but it was the latter who made the stronger start.

As Piastri yielded to his team-mate into the opening corner, he made contact with the Sauber of Hulkenberg, which then pitched the Australian into his title rival.

It marks the second time in two races that the McLaren pair have made contact, following their lap one incident in Singapore two weeks ago.

Speaking to Sky F1, Brown pinned the blame on Hulkenberg, stating: “That was terrible. 

“Neither of our drivers were to blame there. Some amateur hour driving out there by some drivers.

“I want to see the replay again, but clearly Nico drove into Oscar and he had no business being where he was, he went into his left rear tyre.

The stewards noted the incident, but quickly opted to take no further action.

With Norris and Piastri due to get back in their cars later today for qualifying ahead of Sunday's grand prix, Brown is not expecting the damage to impact the upcoming session. 

“It looks like it was just limited to suspension damage so hopefully the damage is easy to fix,” Brown added.