#27 Nico Hulkenberg

During the winter of 2006, Hülkenberg opted not to enjoy the luxury of an off-season and joined A1 Team Germany for the A1 Grand Prix Championship – known as ‘The World Cup of Motorsport’. Missing two races didn’t stop the man from Emmerich from making his mark, achieving an impressive nine race wins to bring home the championship for the team. 

A return to Formula 3 ensued the year after, this time stepping-up to the EuroSeries. Finishing third overall in the standings, the German’s season was highlighted with four wins, at the Norisring – from 18th on the grid – Zandvoort, Nürburgring, and Hockenheim. The following season saw Hülkenberg take top honors, securing the championship title with seven wins, eight podiums and six pole positions. He then joined Williams becoming their Test Driver and graduating to GP2 with ART, competing in two GP2 Asia Series during the off-season and winning in only his third race in Qatar.

In 2009, Hülkenberg joined the GP2 main series, once again with ART. After a couple of races to settle in, he then strung together three consecutive race wins and began an impressive run of form. Five race wins, 10 podiums and three pole positions saw Hülkenberg take the title in tremendous fashion, becoming the first rookie to win the GP2 title since Lewis Hamilton in 2006.   

A standout performance saw Hülkenberg promoted to a full-time Formula 1 drive with Williams in 2010. Once again, the rookie managed to impress with his consistency in the second half of the season and was repeatedly on the brink of points. But it was in Round 18 in Brazil where the German made headlines. A damp qualifying at Interlagos gave the teams the headache of what tires to use for the closing stages of the session. A brave Hülkenberg and Williams team made the gamble to move to super softs and secured pole position with a lap that was over one second faster than second-place Sebastian Vettel.

Having to step aside for Pastor Maldonado the following season, Hülkenberg moved to Force India as the team’s Reserve Driver, regularly participating in Friday morning practice sessions. As the season closed out, the team promoted him to a race seat for 2012. 

A season which resulted in 11th place overall in the Drivers’ Championship on 63 points, once again saw Hülkenberg shine at Interlagos, leading the race for 30 laps before finally crossing the checkered flag in eighth. A joint career-best fourth-place finish at Spa-Francorchamps was another highlight, which resulted in Sauber recruiting the German. 

The relationship lasted for a single season, with Hülkenberg continuing to demonstrate his speed despite lacking the machinery. His best finish of fourth at the Korean Grand Prix, ahead of world champions Lewis Hamilton and Fernando Alonso, showed his potential and led to a return to Force India for 2014. 

His second season with the team included five fourth-place finishes and ended with his best finish in the Drivers’ Championship to date, achieving ninth with 96 points and earning the team sixth place in the Constructors’ Championship.

In 2015, Hülkenberg entered his name into the history books for becoming the first active Formula 1 driver to win the historic Le Mans 24 Hours for 24 years. Once again behind the wheel of the Force India, his campaign featured three top-six place finishes in Austria, Japan, and Brazil. His fourth and final year with the team came in 2016, with a season’s best finish of fourth place at the Belgian Grand Prix and accumulating a total of 72 points. 

Hülkenberg’s next move would be to Renault, following the team’s first season back in the sport. The partnership would result in three seasons together, with a steady rise in form over the first two years. The German finished 10th in the Drivers’ Championship in his first year following multiple Q3 appearances and a trio of sixth-place finishes. In 2018, he would accumulate enough points to finish a career-best seventh place in the standings and securing fifth place at his home grand prix.  

The fight in the midfield grew stronger in 2019 and following a season of challenges for both team and driver, Hülkenberg parted ways with Renault without a contract for the following year. 

Along came 2020 and with it, the most disrupted season of Formula 1 to date, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. With multiple drivers testing positive for the virus and therefore having to miss race weekends, Hülkenberg wasn’t out of the cockpit for long, and would return to Racing Point (previously known as Force India). 

Sergio Perez had to sit out two grands prix – both held at Silverstone in the United Kingdom – and hence would be replaced by the German. Unfortunately, he was unable to start the first race of his return due to a power unit issue. The following weekend, Hülkenberg showed why he’s a trusted pair of hands, qualifying third, and eventually finishing seventh and bringing the team a strong points haul. Round 11 at Nürburgring would see another appearance at Racing Point, this time in place of Lance Stroll. He would go on to qualify 20th and crossed the finish line in eighth, scoring another four points for the team. 

Hülkenberg joined Aston Martin for the 2021 season – a team which once again had origins at Force India – as their Reserve Driver. In 2022, his services would yet again be called upon for the team, coining him the ‘super-sub’ nickname, with Hülkenberg taking the place of Sebastian Vettel for the opening two races of the season due to testing positive for COVID-19. Hülkenberg finished 17th in Bahrain and 12th in Saudi Arabia, supporting the team from the sidelines throughout the remainder of the season and participating in Pirelli tire tests.

The 2023 FIA Formula 1 World Championship marks Nico Hülkenberg’s return to a full-time race seat in Formula 1, partnering with Kevin Magnussen. The pair boast 322 race starts and 704 points between them.