Nico Hulkenberg has explained how errant debris from a Liam Lawson incident triggered his “strange” DNF from the Formula 1 Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix.
The German driver bowed out of the 66-lap race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on Lap 31, on Sunday.
Gunning to elevate Audi into the top 10, Hulkenberg was chasing the Racing Bulls of Liam Lawson coming out of Turn 12.
However, the Kiwi driver went off track towards the approach of Turn 13, leaving a spray of gravel in the path of Hulkenberg.
This, as he explained, bizarrely led to the kill-switch on his car to be activated, shutting off the electronics on the car completely.
“He put a wheel in the gravel exit of [Turn] 12, kicked up a lot of gravel, and that gravel somehow one stone pulled the emergency trigger on the left of the roll hoop, and it just killed the car,” he told media including Motorsport Week.
“I would have never seen or heard about this to be honest in my career.
“Very unlucky, strange… The timing of that, when you see what happened at the end, two higher placed cars dropping out.
“The racing world doesn’t want us to score yet.”
Liam Lawson reacts to Nico Hulkenberg’s freak F1 Barcelona GP DNF
Lawson, who stayed in the race, took the chequered flag for the Faenza-based team in a solid ninth place.
In fact, the Racing Bulls driver wasn’t even aware it was he who had caused Hulkenberg’s DNF.
“Are you serious,” he exclaimed when informed how the German’s race had ended owing to errant debris he had showered on the track.
“No way. Oh, that’s so unfortunate! Obviously, I had no idea, and if I could perfectly aim for something like that!
“I had no idea. I just knew that he, that he dropped out.”
The kill-switch is an essential part of the safety protocols in F1. It helps the marshals quickly deactivate the ERS and ICE systems to aid safer recovery of the car after an incident.
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