‘All the good work from yesterday in the bin’ – Hulkenberg laments Turn 1 collision that forced both McLarens out of US GP Sprint

Nico Hulkenberg conceded his good work went "in the bin" after a Turn 1 collision with Oscar Piastri negated his season-best qualifying result in the United States Grand Prix Sprint.

Hulkenberg was one of the standout performers in Sprint Qualifying, as he reached the top-10 shootout for the first time this season, and ended the session fourth fastest, behind only the championship-chasing trio of Max Verstappen, Lando Norris, and Piastri.

With multiple lines possible at Turn 1 of the Circuit of The Americas, Hulkenberg found himself with cars on either side as the Sprint began, and made wheel-to-wheel contact with Piastri, which flung the Australian’s McLaren onto two wheels and into the sister car of Norris – putting the two championship leaders out of the race.

“Big frustration,” said Hulkenberg reflecting on that moment. “All the good work from yesterday was put in the bin. We lost another front wing, which is also very annoying.”

Although Hulkenberg was able to continue following a pit stop for a new front wing, he finished outside the points, in 13th place.

“It was just messy,” he said of the collision, which the stewards deemed to be a racing incident.

“I saw a replay of it, and Oscar turned in pretty aggressively. He wanted to get the undercut and the run on the exit of Turn 1, but I was kind of there. I can’t just disappear, and I had Fernando [Alonso] on the inside.

“I couldn’t see him anymore. I saw in my peripheral vision that he had dived in, and then you don’t see a car anymore, so I wanted to leave space for him in case he didn’t have it under control.

“Then Oscar turned in, and contact was inevitable.”

While Hulkenberg was unable to deliver on his top-four start in the Sprint he will hope to rediscover his turn of pace when Qualifying gets underway later on.