The 239 races that made Nico Hulkenberg

Nico Hulkenberg took to the podium for the first time in his 15-year-long F1 career this weekend at Silverstone after an incredible drive from the back of the grid to P3 in classic British weather. It was a long time coming to see the German driver in a Pirelli cap, covered in champagne and celebrating high scoring points, but this race was truly worth the wait.

His career began at the age of 9 in his hometown of Emmerich, Germany, where he fell in love with karting, and from there his journey started. He was the German karting champion 2 years in a row in 2002 and 2003, where he picked up many trophies for his cabinet. Then took the Formula BMW title in 2005. As most young drivers do, he drove Formula 3, which he won, and the following year won GP2 (which is the equivalent to Formula 2 today) before he was scouted out by Williams to join their Formula 1 team.

And so, he did. Hulkenberg debuted in the Williams in 2010 at Bahrain. Only 3 races later, he picked up his first points in Malaysia and rounded off an impressive debut season with a pole position for the penultimate race in Brazil. He didn’t stay at Williams for another season though, and moved across the pitlane to Force India, and has continued his career moving from team to team with names such as Renault, Haas, and now Stake Kick Sauber.

However, Formula 1 isn’t the only series he has raced in. Nico tried out the LMP1 cars in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) for the Porsche team. He teamed up with drivers Earl Bamber and Nick Tandy to take on the historic 24 hours of Le Mans in 2015 which he won first time out.

It wasn’t all that easy though, with many ups and downs throughout his career, but this season is proving how great a driver he is. He is currently sitting P9 in the drivers' championship with 37 points (which is 90% of the team’s points this season, with his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto bringing in the other 4) taking them to P6 in the constructors' championship. He had some astounding races and averages 5 positions gained per race, including Spain where he climbed 10 positions, and Britain where he took his maiden podium 16 places higher than he qualified.

Nico lined up P19 on the grid for the start of the British Grand Prix and under conditions that I can only describe as torrential downpour to tropical sun, drove a great race. Through the thunder of both the clouds and other cars crashing out, he made his way through the grid. The moment he found himself in podium positions was when he overtook the Aston Martin of Lance Stroll through the hangar straight and into Stowe. Hulkenburg continued to defend off 7-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the Ferrari behind him and kept his position in P3 until the chequered flag where all the grandstands, no matter what team they supported, rose for him. The podium was a special moment, and by the end of the night, he was covered in the champagne lent by the Mercedes and Aston Martin teams and took his first F1 trophy home to sit alongside the vast collection he has won over the years.

From karting to Formula 1, Hulkenberg’s career has been nothing short of impressive, and it is very special to see him claim that long overdue podium, which both he and everyone behind the scenes in the team all deserve. Though his silverware was made of Lego, I’m sure he will treasure the trophy and the weekend as much as all the fans did. A massive congratulations to the Stake F1 team and Nico Hulkenberg on this brilliant achievement.