India, March 8 -- Soon after Oscar Piastri's heartbreaking crash at the Australian GP on Sunday, it was Nico Hulkenberg who was forced to retire. The German veteran's Audi suffered a technical issue and was wheeled off the grid into the garage. The car failed to take the start. With the issues, Hulkenberg's hopes for the season-opening race in Melbourne ended moments before the start when his car suddenly lost telemetry data.

Despite efforts from the team to resolve the problem, the failure could not be fixed in time. The setback made him the second driver to be eliminated before the race even began.

Earlier, hometown favorite Oscar Piastri had already been forced out after crashing during the parade lap while heading toward the grid. T...