Nico Hulkenberg's shock return to action with Racing Point at Silverstone took a turn for the worse when the German driver's car refused to fire up properly during the pre-race procedure.
Hulkenberg was drafted in at the eleventh hour to replace Sergio Perez for this weekend's British Grand Prix after the Mexican tested positive for COVID-19 and was forced into quarantine.
Save for the physical strain associated with driving a modern F1 after a lengthy hiatus, Hulkenberg acquitted himself well in free practice.
The German was set to line up 13th on Sunday's grid but the team diagnosed an issue when the RP20 was fired up in the Racing Point garage.
The team frantically tried to remedy the problem but ultimately lost its race against the clock "after an issue was discovered with his car leaving the garage to head to the grid," according to the team.
The race thus got underway less one pink charger on the grid.
(Updated...)
After the race, Hulkenberg joked that his premature demise was just another event to add on to the last few crazy days.
"It's crazy, isn't it? Somehow it fits into all these crazy days that I've experienced," said the German.
"But obviously disappointing for me and for the team.
"They tried everything, but [because of] some sort of power unit issue, we didn't manage to start the car and get out there, which is obviously a disappointing problem. We're looking into why."
Racing point is awaiting clarity on Sergio Perez's health situation and on the exact length of the Mexican's imposed quarantine before confirming or not Hulkenberg's participation in next week's 70th Anniversary Grand Prix at Silverstone.
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