Nico Hulkenberg was handed the black flag during the red flag break at the Brazilian Grand Prix, meaning he has been disqualified from the session.

The Haas racer became the first driver to receive the black flag since Giancarlo Fisichella at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix for receiving assistance after an off-track moment.

Hulkenberg found himself beached at the exit of Turn One with that moment bringing out the virtual safety car. He was able to get going again with assistance, but the stewards duly disqualified him when the race was stopped after a serious Franco Colapinto shunt.

The veteran German became the fourth driver to exit the race. Alex Albon couldn’t take the start after a heavy crash in qualifying, while Lance Stroll beached his Aston Martin in the gravel on the formation lap.

Colapinto was the other retiree. He lost control of his Williams car on his out lap under safety car conditions after pitting to strap on fresh intermediate tyres, much to the disappointment of his vocal and extensive support in the grandstands.

There was more pain for Haas too. Oliver Bearman, who stepped in for the stricken Kevin Magnussen, was hit with a 10-second time penalty early on for a collision with Colapinto.

Bearman had another incident when the race restarted. With the rest of the pack backing up, the Brit had a spin onto the grass but thankfully recovered, only to find the wall three laps later while hounding Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz at Ferradura.

Discussing his unexpected call-up, Bearman explained: “Ayao woke me up in the morning at, like, 6:30 with his call. When I saw his name I wasn’t so mad. If it was my mum or something, not realising the time difference, I would have been a bit more angry.

“Of course, I want to give my best to Kevin because I know he’s feeling bad, and he has had a lot of success at the track and he took pole here. Of course, I am very happy to get into an F1 car and it is a pleasure.”