A wheel comes loose from the McLaren of Norris after he made contact with fellow driver Oscar Piastri at the beginning of the US GP short race.
McLaren Formula 1 executives Zak Brown and Andrea Stella blamed opposing racers for the collision between Oscar Piastri and Norris at the start of the United States Grand Prix sprint event.
Piastri, leading Norris in the standings by twenty-two points, made contact with his team-mate after hitting the Hulkenberg.
The incident forced out both McLaren drivers out of the race, along with Aston Martin's Alonso, who was on the inside of the Sauber driver.
Team Executives Express Disappointment Over Crash
Brown, McLaren Racing's chief executive officer, commented to Sky Sports that some of the driving at the start was "inexperienced", stating: "Obviously Nico hit Piastri and he had no business being where he was."
McLaren F1 team principal Stella commented: "Our feeling is that we are displeased that we were denied the possibility to race."
"It's surprising that some drivers with a lot of expertise don't act with justful prudence. Enter the initial turn, make sure you avoid harming other drivers and continue."
McLaren indicated that Stella was mentioning both Hulkenberg and the Aston Martin driver.
Differing Perspectives on the Incident
However, 1996 world champion Hill, commentating for BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, said he thought Piastri had not demonstrated enough understanding of the risks of the opening turn of an F1 race when he decided to move inside to try to overtake Norris.
Piastri had a stronger launch than Norris and initially competed on the outer side on the ascending entry to the corner.
However he then cut back in an attempt to get a run on his teammate on the way out, only to hit Hulkenberg.
Racer Comments After the Collision
The McLaren driver said: "Not ideal but I haven't seen what happened, I attempted to move inside on Lando and we were both quite distant from the corner apex and then were struck and it sent me into Lando. Unfortunate."
His teammate commented: "I just was struck, right? I did nothing wrong. Behind us events unfolded and I just got unlucky and was struck because of it. I don't know. 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."
Alonso said: "At one point I thought I was in the right place on the inside, but some vehicles came very quickly from the outside changing direction and then I was there in the center."
Hulkenberg, who had earned a season-best fourth place, said: "Major disappointment. All the strong performance from the previous day in the bin. Just chaotic."
"Oscar steered inward pretty aggressively trying to get the undercut and exit of Turn One but I can't just disappear."
"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."
Post-Crash and Team Response
The team will analyze the crash with their drivers but not until the race weekend. Both cars needed extensive work before grand prix qualifying at 22:00 BST on Saturday.
Stella said: "In general disappointed but we take it on the chin, we are now focusing on repairing the vehicles, there is a lot to do and then we will restart the weekend from there."
"We are in a strong position from our competitiveness point of view so I hope we have the possibility to compete, race normally and utilize our performance."
"The points are the key thing, I don't want to talk about bad intentions, just caution. A little more care would be beneficial for all involved."
Championship Implications
The race was won by Red Bull's Verstappen, who gained ground on both McLaren drivers in the standings - he is now 55 points behind Piastri and thirty-three adrift of the Briton.
Stella said: "The consequence is what the maths says - we lost eight points with both racers, but we focus on ourselves. We have a very competitive car and two strong racers. We anticipate just some normal racing."
The Red Bull driver said he was approaching the title race one event at a time.
US GP
October 17-19, with main event from 8 PM BST on Sunday
Live commentary on sports radio, Sports Extra and Sports Extra 2; live text updates on sports website and app
