After 239 attempts in the fastest motorsport series in the world, Nico Hulkenberg finally claimed his first career podium — driving for Sauber, the team that was by far the slowest on the track last year.
It was truly an incredible race for Hulkenberg, so let’s dive into the data to see exactly how he managed to climb from virtually last on the grid to a well-deserved spot on the podium.
Nico Hulkenberg: From last to podium at the British Grand Prix
Following a poor qualifying on Saturday, it seemed Sauber — who have been in strong form over the past few races — were set to see their streak of points finishes come to an end.
Let’s not forget, the team (which will officially become the Audi project from next season) only recently secured their second points-paying finish of the year after bringing a major floor upgrade in Spain.
That upgrade was a significant step forward, and since the Barcelona race, points followed in both Canada and Austria.
However, in qualifying, Nico Hulkenberg could do no better than P19; only Franco Colapinto was slower, while his teammate Gabriel Bortoleto qualified 17th.
From positions like these, you don’t expect points in normal conditions — unless you’re racing at a rainy Silverstone.
With Colapinto starting from the pit lane due to a power unit change, Hulkenberg effectively lined up last on the grid.
Like everyone else, he started on intermediates, but several drivers — including George Russell Russell and Charles Leclerc — opted to switch tyres already during the formation lap. This immediately gave Hulkenberg track position, and by the end of the first lap, he was up to P12.
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Thanks to the sunshine that appeared at that moment, the track dried very quickly, forcing teams to make a crucial call, knowing rain was forecast to return in just a few minutes.
In the following laps, Hulkenberg managed to overtake Lance Stroll on track, and with Kimi Antonelli pitting, the Sauber driver found himself in the points, running in P10.
Then came Sauber’s best tactical decision, the one that ultimately shaped this remarkable result. When the rain returned, most drivers had been running their intermediates on the drying surface and would inevitably need fresh tyres for the wet conditions.
Hulkenberg pitted at the start of that window, in lap 9 — earlier than anyone else in that group.
This meant he was on fresh intermediates just as the circuit became fully wet, gaining significant time over everyone who pitted later while also having critical grip during that transition period.
The graph above shows it clearly: Hulkenberg effectively ‘jumped’ almost all the drivers who stopped a lap or two after him, mostly in laps 10 and 11.
By lap 13, with all drivers bar Esteban Ocon having pitted at least once, Hulkenberg was in an astonishing P5.
Telemetry data also reveals that on lap 12, while most of his rivals were in the pits, Hulkenberg was the fastest man on track, making up the positions that paved his way to the podium.
A later spin for Max Verstappen elevated Hulkenberg to P4, and at that point, it became clear he had a genuine chance of finally claiming a top-three finish.
What helped him immensely was the wet track; as long as conditions stayed like that, he could mask the performance deficit of his car. His real threats were Stroll ahead and Lewis Hamilton behind.
Hulkenberg drove superbly in the laps that followed, fully exploiting the wet conditions to cover for any weaknesses in his machinery. By lap 35, he had overtaken Stroll on track, leaving him and Hamilton in a straight fight for that final podium spot.
Then came another stroke of fortune for the German.
As the track dried and drivers started to switch back to slicks, Hamilton pitted a lap earlier than Hulkenberg and opted for soft tyres. However, as he exited the pit lane, he lost control, ran off track, and lost valuable time to Nico.
The gap, previously around 1.5 seconds, grew to over seven seconds. Although Hamilton pushed hard and began to close in, at no point was the gap small enough to truly threaten Hulkenberg’s hold on P3. Had Hamilton not made that error, it’s highly likely he could have taken that podium spot.
But it was Nico who drove a near-flawless race, avoided mistakes, and combined a touch of luck with excellent tactical decisions to finally celebrate with champagne on the podium.
The 15 points also lifted Sauber to fifth in the constructors’ standings, reopening the fight with Racing Bulls and even Williams.
A phenomenal achievement for a driver who unquestionably deserved it — and for a team that is starting to reap the rewards of their hard work this season.
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