Nico Hulkenberg

About

Nico Hulkenberg too started his career at the go-kart track at the tender age of 10 back in 1997. From the German karting championship as a 15-year-old, the Italian junior championship as a 17-year-old, GP2 crown in rookie season till the F1 debut for Williams as an 18-year-old it was a well-trodden path for Hulkenberg.

Biography

Formula BMW

Hulkenberg dominated in his debut Formula BMW in 2005 and went on to win the championship comfortably. Though this title was stripped off him after it was claimed that he had brake-tested his rivals during a safety car period, it didn’t stop him from climbing up his career.

A1 Grand Prix

With 9 wins in his rookie season representing the German A1 Grand Prix during the 2006-07 season, he not only single-handedly won the championship for Germany but also became the most successful driver in A1GP history.

Formula Three

Hulkenberg finished 5^th in 2006, 3^rd in 2007, and went on to win the Formula 3 Euro Series championship in 2008. Hulkenberg switched from German to Euro Series after the 2006 season and joined with the ASM team which had taken Lewis Hamilton to championships back then.

GP2 Series:

Winning the GP2 crown in his rookie season secured his move into F1 racing, as this feat is only matched by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg.

Le Mans:

Nico Hulkenberg is one among the handful of recent drivers to compete in the Le Mans 24 hours race amid parallel Grand Prix careers. Not only did he participate but also won in his very first attempt at the epic endurance event, which also happened to be Porsche’s first outright victory since 1998.

Williams to Renault

Nico Hulkenberg on 2^nd November 2009 was confirmed to race for Williams in 2010 along with an experienced teammate, Rubens Barrichello. At his maiden campaign, he duly delivered a shock at the Brazilian Grand Prix by taking the pole position, which happened to be Williams’ first pole since the 2005 European Grand Prix. After losing his lead spot in the very first lap he ended that race at 8^th position.

Then he was signed by the Force India as a reserve driver for the 2011 season, went on to confirm his signing for the 2012 season as well. For the 2013 season, Sauber signed Hulkenberg just to return back to Force India for the 2014 season.

Hulkenberg created a huge impact on his return that he was re-signed for 2 more seasons before he was signed by Renault for the 2017 season. Nico Hulkenberg embraced his role as a team leader at Renault finishing the season at the 10^th spot, outqualifying his teammates 43-14 over the course of the season.

Hulkenberg would finally lose his spot at Renault in 2019 to Esteban Ocon and would be without a drive in 2020 barring a few opportunities here and there. Hulkenberg would be unable to secure a seat for the 2021 season and would be without a seat for a second year in a row.