Gravel from Lawson's wheel triggers Hulkenberg's kill switch to end Barcelona race

Nico Hulkenberg’s Spanish Grand Prix ended in one of the most freakish retirements in recent Formula 1 memory on Sunday, when gravel thrown by Liam Lawson’s Racing Bulls car hit the emergency kill switch on his Audi and shut the vehicle down entirely on lap 28 at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Hulkenberg had been attempting to overtake Lawson for ninth position when Lawson put a wheel into the gravel at the exit of Turn 12. The debris launched into Hulkenberg’s car and struck the kill switch, instantly cutting all power.

“That gravel somehow pulled the emergency trigger,” Hulkenberg said. “It just killed the car and totally switched off. The car was dead and then, obviously, I just coasted into the pitlane. There was nothing left, it was completely shut down.”

The 38-year-old admitted the incident was unlike anything he had encountered across his long career. “I’ve never seen or heard about this, to be honest, in my career. Very unlucky. Strange, the timing of that.”

The retirement was a particularly costly one for Hulkenberg, who was on course for his first points finish of the 2026 season. He now sits 19th in the drivers’ standings, with Audi’s only points to date coming from Gabriel Bortoleto’s ninth-place finish at the Melbourne season opener.

The frustration was compounded by what unfolded in the race’s closing laps. Kimi Antonelli, running second, suffered an engine failure with three laps remaining, while Charles Leclerc lost power steering in his Ferrari from sixth place. Lawson ultimately crossed the line eighth — the position Hulkenberg had been fighting for when his race was ended.

“When you see what happened at the end, two top cars dropping out,” Hulkenberg said. “I don’t know, it’s somehow… the racing god doesn’t want us to score yet.”

Lawson, who has now recorded five points finishes across the opening seven rounds of the season including three in a row, said he had no knowledge of the incident until journalists informed him after the race. “You serious? No way, that’s so unfortunate. Obviously I had no idea and if I could perfectly aim for something like that… but I had no idea, I just knew that he dropped out.”