Who slept best last night: Nico Hulkenberg

Lando Norris claimed a home race victory in the British Grand Prix, with a dash of luck. Yet it is Nico Hulkenberg who was crowned ‘driver of the day’ by the fans – and not just them, also the whole Formula 1 paddock.

That much is clear from rival teams Aston Martin and Mercedes bringing bottles of champagne over to the unprepared Sauber garage so Hulkenberg could be properly celebrated, or from fellow drivers heaping praise upon the third-oldest man on the grid. Not a hint of envy, just genuine joy and recognition for the 37-year-old who, on Sunday, finally added a long-missing highlight to his lengthy career.

“For me he's always been a top-five driver in the grid every time he's been in F1,” said former team-mate Carlos Sainz, who partnered with Hulkenberg at Renault. “So I'm glad he has his podium now to shut up everyone that doubted him. For me, I never doubted him.”

“One of the best drivers on the grid” - Alonso

Motorsport legend Fernando Alonso has made no secret of his admiration for Hulkenberg, at least since the German’s Le Mans 24 Hours win with Porsche in 2015. “One of the best drivers on the grid that never had the opportunity to have a proper car underneath and yeah, I'm very, very, truly happy for him,” said the Spaniard.

The fact that Hulkenberg had to wait until his 239th Formula 1 race to finally stand on the podium is, to many long-time observers, a real mystery. After all, the young man from Emmerich stormed through the junior categories with the credentials of a future world champion – not thanks to Michael Schumacher’s former manager Willi Weber, but through sheer performance.

With titles in karting, Formula BMW, the A1GP championship, then the Formula 3 Euro Series and finally the GP2 Series (now known as Formula 2), Hulkenberg was nothing less than a prodigy, dominating the junior ladder. Naturally, he landed an F1 seat at Williams for 2010. And though the team fell short of its own expectations, the rookie delivered a sensational pole position in Sao Paulo – a real statement.

Polesitter Nico Hulkenberg, Williams (Photo by: Glenn Dunbar / Motorsport Images)

Hulkenberg can forget Interlagos and Hockenheim at last

But when the cash-strapped Williams team opted for the sponsorship millions of Pastor Maldonado the following year, Hulkenberg suddenly found himself without a drive and had to settle for a reserve role at Force India. A year later, he returned to the grid and once again delivered a stellar performance at Interlagos.

“That should’ve happened 13 years ago,” recalls former world champion Jenson Button in Silverstone on Sunday, referring to Hulkenberg’s long-overdue podium. “He was leading the Brazilian Grand Prix back then, and he crashed with the guy who ended up chasing him today: Lewis Hamilton,” Button says with a smile, having benefited from that 2012 chaos to win the race himself.

Unknowingly, Hulkenberg was only at the start of a very long wait for that one Formula 1 trophy. While Germany celebrated other racing heroes – first Sebastian Vettel, then Nico Rosberg – Hulkenberg languished in the grey midfield, forced to settle for much less than his fellow countrymen of similar age. After a brief stint with Sauber in 2013, he spent three more seasons at Force India and then three years with Renault.

Several times he came tantalisingly close to the podium, most notably in the wet at Hockenheim in 2019. Asked in Sunday’s press conference whether that missed opportunity crossed his mind during the race, Hulkenberg casually replied: “Nah.” That relaxed, unburdened attitude in the second phase of his career – his encore, so to speak – may just be the key to his late success.

Nico Hulkenberg, Renault F1 Team R.S. 19 (Photo by: Jerry Andre / Motorsport Images)

Hulkenberg 2.0: A super-sub before his comeback with Haas

At the end of 2019, Hulkenberg appeared to be done with F1. After his contract with Renault expired, it looked as though Hockenheim had been his final shot at a podium. In the COVID-hit 2020 season, he was without a seat—until the virus brought him back as a stand-in for Sergio Perez at Racing Point.

Fittingly, it was at Silverstone where the super-sub immediately impressed, qualifying a remarkable third in his second outing and finishing seventh for points. He repeated the feat later that year, finishing eighth at the Nurburgring as a last-minute replacement for Lance Stroll.

In 2021, Hulkenberg shifted gears and took on a new challenge as a pundit for ServusTV, though personal milestones took centre stage. He married his partner Egle, and half a year later, their daughter Noemi Sky was born. On Sunday in Silverstone, she went viral after joyfully waving at her father on TV as he greeted the world from the podium for the first time.

In 2022, Hulkenberg served as a stand-in once more, this time for Aston Martin. But it was team boss Guenther Steiner and owner Gene Haas who handed him a full-time comeback in 2023, replacing fellow German Mick Schumacher. For Hulkenberg, the return proved successful; he showed his skills as a strong qualifier and, in the second season, was a reliable points scorer whenever the car allowed it.

Green as the colour of hope

Nico Hulkenberg, Sauber (Photo by: Simon Galloway / LAT Images via Getty Images)

With new momentum in his career, Hulkenberg signed a multi-year deal with Sauber ahead of Audi’s entry for 2025, hoping to one day stand on the podium, once the aimed transformation into a top team is complete.

“That was the most overdue podium in Formula 1 history,” says Sauber's new team principal Jonathan Wheatley on Sunday, calling it a “masterpiece from Nico”. For the Swiss squad, revamped around Wheatley and ex-Ferrari man Mattia Binotto, the timing may feel a bit early. After all, their premium partner doesn’t officially join until next season.

But no one can blame Hulkenberg for not waiting on Audi, instead grabbing the opportunity as soon as it finally came, after 15 years and a long wait of 239 races. The record for most grand prix starts without a podium now returns to Adrian Sutil, and let’s be honest: it suits him far better than it ever did Hulkenberg, who no longer has to be haunted by that unfortunate statistic.