Alonso critical of Hulkenberg after first corner accident
Fernando Alonso has questioned how Nico Hulkenberg could have misjudged his braking by such a big margin, causing the dramatic first corner accident at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Reminiscent of Romain Grosjean’s crash at Spa in 2012, Alonso’s McLaren was launched into the air and above Charles Leclerc’s Sauber at the hairpin La Source, removing the rear wing and sliding over the top of the halo in the process.
Replays showed that the accident started with Renault’s Nico Hulkenberg missing his braking point by a considerable margin, hitting the rear of Alonso’s McLaren with considerable force. Talking to BBC’s Radio 5 Live, Alonso didn’t hold back on his criticism of Hulkenberg, comparing the incident to 2012.
“Yet again a very big-time missed braking point,” he said to Radio 5 Live. “Last time Romain had a race ban. This time we’ll see.
“It’s hard to understand how you can miss a braking point that much. You arrive at a speed where it’s impossible to negotiate the corner.”
It was one of the first major tests for the new halo device, with Leclerc escaping injury from the flying McLaren.
“I think for him it helped, looking at the replay. I was definitely happier that I had the halo. We don’t need to prove that it’s a good thing to have,” explained Alonso.
“The positive side is that we all three are OK, including Charles. I flew over his car and the halo was a very good thing to have today.”
Hulkenberg has claimed responsibility for the accident. “When I hit the brakes obviously I instantly locked up the front wheel and just was sliding into Alonso,” he said after his retirement.
“Probably misjudged a bit on my side. A bit too late on the brakes. A bit too keen.”
Hulkenberg was handed a 10-place grid drop for next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix and receives three penalty-points on his superlicense.