Nico Hulkenberg has attempted to explain what happened after triggering a three-car crash at the start of the Belgian Grand Prix.The German driver locked his brakes on the approach to La Source hairpin, slamming into the back of Fernando Alonso and sending the McLaren over the top of Charles Leclerc's Sauber.For the Spaniard, there was likely flashbacks to a similar incident at the start of the 2012 race, when Romain Grosjean flew over the front of his Ferrari, narrowly avoiding his head.Indeed, it was one example the FIA used when developing the Halo which was introduced this season and the cockpit device proved very effective in protecting the Sauber driver from the flying McLaren.While accepting responsibility for causing the collision, which also resulted in Daniel Ricciardo and Kimi Raikkonen making contact as a result of damage to the Red Bull, Hulkenberg expressed surprise at the lack of control he had.“It’s just incredible how sensitive these cars are with aerodynamics. When you have a few cars that bunch up in front of you, how much grip and loads you lose," the Renault driver was quoted by RaceFans.

“When I hit the brakes obviously I instantly locked up the front wheel and just was sliding into Fernando [Alonso]. Probably misjudged a bit on my side. A bit too late on the brakes. A bit too keen.

“Frustrating, obviously, for him, for Charles [Leclerc] as well, and also for myself.”

Alonso had little contrition for Hulkenberg, however, as he slammed a lack of thought into how he approached the notoriously difficult first corner.

“I am disappointed,” he said. “We had a good start. there were a couple of possibilities into Turn 1.

“You play cautious, you brake in the same point, you look in the mirror and you see the guys behind that they think this is the last corner of the championship."

After the similar crash in 2012, Grosjean would be banned for the next race in Italy, this time Hulkenberg has just been given a 10-place grid drop for Monza.

Prior to that ruling, Alonso had suggested the stewards should send a message with their ruling.

“Those kind of mistakes, the starts with high consequences, I think they should be reviewed a little bit harder," he said.

“The Halo was a very good thing to have today, I think for him [Leclerc], it helped, looking at the replay.

“We don’t need to prove it’s a good thing to have.”