Nico Hulkenberg suffered yet more disappointment after crashing out while challenging for a podium in Sunday's German Grand Prix.

The Renault driver found himself in the top three after Charles Leclerc had gone off and the two Mercedes dropped down in the dash to get back on intermediates in the mixed conditions.

However, having dropped to fourth, his hopes of remaining in contention ended as he repeated Leclerc's mistake of going off at the final two corners and skating in the barrier.

“It’s a tough one to take,” he told the media in the Hockenheim paddock. “I’m upset for myself, the team and for Renault because they deserved an excellent result today.

“It’s one of those days where you have to make it stick, and I’m just gutted with how it ended especially in front of the home crowd.

“The final corner was very tricky as it was damp, I lost the rear a bit, went into a spin so I opened the steering and went onto the black tarmac. It was like ice there, and by that point, I couldn’t stop the car.

“We were doing a phenomenal job, strategy was very difficult so it hurts and it will hurt even more tomorrow.”

Hulkenberg's crash came after teammate Daniel Ricciardo had been one of the earlier retirement due to an exhaust failure on his Renault.

“I could see a lot of smoke coming out from the back of the car and that was our day done," he commented.

“It’s certainly a shame. I watched the rest of the race and it looked a lot of fun out there. I would have loved to have been racing as there were opportunities for big points.

“It’s disappointing but we’ll move on to next week. It’s a tough overall result for the team, but hopefully, Hungary will be better for us.”