him retiring from the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, the same has
effectively happened in Formula E. In Barcelona, Hülkenberg was
forced to retire after a piece of gravel flicked into the air by
Liam Lawson struck the pull loop on the side of his Audi, which
acts as a kill switch. Hülkenberg’s car shut down completely,
leaving him to coast into the pit lane before the German
manufacturer discovered what had happened, with all radio
communication also having been lost. It is an incredibly rare cause
of retirement, but fast forward six days and the same thing has
happened in Formula E. During Formula E’s Sanya E-Prix, Mahindra’s
Edoardo Mortara suddenly retired from the race in the closing
stages for initially unknown reasons. However, it was soon
confirmed by the team that a piece of debris had struck the pull
loop on Mortara’s car, also shutting it down completely and forcing
him into an immediate retirement. The fire extinguisher also went
off. “Unfortunately, we had contact which damaged our front wing,
and the race ended with a technical issue with the extinguisher,
which went off by itself,” said Mortara. Despite the frustration,
Mahindra tried to see the funny side of it by noting on social
media that it understood Hülkenberg’s pain. “Possibly the most
unlucky emergency stop activation ever, triggered by debris.
Somehow this story sounds very familiar🤦. “@HulkHulkenberg, we feel
you 😅” See the post below!
https://x.com/MahindraRacing/status/2068268674688209278?s=20
Possibly the most unlucky emergency stop activation ever, triggered
by debris. Somehow this story sounds very familiar🤦 @HulkHulkenberg
, we feel you 😅 #Mahindra #FormulaE #SanyaEPrix #Formula1
pic.twitter.com/LoCPAWXHNI — Mahindra Racing (@MahindraRacing) June
20, 2026