One tire comes loose from the car of Lando Norris after he crashed into fellow driver Oscar Piastri at the opening of the United States Grand Prix short race.
McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella attributed opposing racers for the collision between Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.
Piastri, ahead of Norris in the championship by 22 points, bounced into his fellow McLaren driver after hitting the Hulkenberg.
The collision eliminated both team drivers from the event, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inner side of the Sauber driver.
McLaren Leaders Express Disappointment Over Crash
Brown, the team's chief executive officer, stated to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "unprofessional", stating: "Clearly Hulkenberg hit Oscar and he had no business being where he was."
McLaren F1 team principal Stella stated: "Our feeling is that we are disappointed that we didn't have the possibility to compete."
"It is unexpected that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with appropriate caution. Enter the initial turn, ensure you don't damage other drivers and continue."
McLaren indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and Alonso.
Contrasting Views on the Incident
Nevertheless, former champion Hill, commentating for a sports broadcast, said he thought 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 his teammate.
Piastri had a better start than Norris and at first competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the turn.
However he then cut back in an effort to get a run on his teammate on the exit, only to hit the Sauber driver.
Driver Reactions After the Collision
Piastri said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to cut back on Lando and we were both very far from the corner apex and then got a hit and it propelled me into Norris. Unfortunate."
Norris said: "I just got hit, right? I did nothing wrong. Further back events unfolded and I just got unlucky and got hit because of it. I am unsure. I need to review a bit more carefully. It's more people behind just being a bit reckless 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 vehicles came very quickly from the outside switching back and then I was there in the center."
Hulkenberg, who had earned a best qualifying fourth place, said: "Big frustrations. All the strong performance from yesterday in the bin. Just chaotic."
"Oscar steered inward pretty forcefully trying to get the inside line and way out of the first corner but I cannot vanish."
"I had Fernando challenge on the inner side and I couldn't see him any more. I wanted to provide room for him and then Oscar steered inward and the collision was unavoidable."
Aftermath and McLaren's Reaction
The team will analyze the incident with their drivers but only after the race weekend. Both cars needed significant repairs before qualifying session at 22:00 BST on Saturday.
Stella said: "In general displeased 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 event from there."
"We are in a competitive place from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the opportunity to race, race normally and utilize our capabilities."
"Championship points are the most important thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A bit more prudence would be good for everyone."
Standings Impact
The race was taken by the Max Verstappen, who closed in on both team racers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and 33 adrift of the Briton.
Stella said: "The consequence is what the numbers says - we missed out on eight championship points with both drivers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong racers. We look forward to just some standard competition."
The Red Bull driver said he was taking the title race one event at a time.
US GP
October 17-19, with main event from 20:00 BST on the final day
Live commentary on sports radio, Sports Extra and extra coverage; live text updates on sports website and app
