McLaren have refused to hit out at Romain Grosjean after the Lotus driver put a dent in Lewis Hamilton's title charge when he took him out of Sunday's Belgian GP.
Starting from seventh on the grid, Hamilton had hoped to at least be fighting for a podium finish at Spa. That was not to be.
As the 44-lap grand prix got underway, Grosjean cut across the track and, with nowhere for Hamilton to go, the McLaren driver could do nothing to avoid the approaching Lotus.
Grosjean hit Hamilton side-on, starting an accident that also took out Sergio Perez and Fernando Alonso, the latter of whom was lucky not to be hit on the head when the E20 was airborne.
"I wouldn't want to print the words I was thinking when I saw the crash," McLaren's team boss Martin Whitmarsh told the BBC.
"Grosjean just kept coming, for Lewis and the others, it was a shame for all of them and us as race fans.
"It is not my business to say if a penalty should be awarded. They were complete victims of an incident."
But while Whitmarsh refused to say much, McLaren's technical director Sam Michael accused Grosjean of 'squeezing' Hamilton. He did, however, at least attempt to give a reason for saying that.
"I think what happened is that Romain came across and squeezed," Michael told Sky Sports F1.
"Romain didn't have anyone on his left-hand side and Lewis had nowhere else to go because he was already on the side of the track."
He added: "I don't think he saw him. Normally he is a good driver."
As for his part, Hamilton didn't have much to say about the accident, opting instead to keep his own council.
"I really don't want to talk about the start. People can see what happened," said the McLaren driver.
Hamilton, though, wasn't the only innocent victim as Perez was also taken out when Grosjean hit his Sauber from behind, which launched the Lotus into the air.
"We lost a very good opportunity today," said the Mexican driver, who had started the grand prix fourth on the grid. "We missed it because of the mistake of a driver.
"I am looking forward for myself and the team to recover what we lost today."
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