Hülkenberg (Audi) after the sensational Silverstone GP: “I’ll never forget it”

At last, at last it had happened: Nico Hülkenberg secured third place in the 2025 British Grand Prix with a fabulous drive from 19th on the grid – and in doing so broke a crazy record. No driver in the premier class had had to wait as long for their first podium finish as the German.

Speaking of waiting: Hülkenberg had flown to England with his mate Max Verstappen, and the four-time world champion postponed his return journey to Monaco so that Nico could have the chance to celebrate in style with the Sauber team.

As soon as the chequered flag had been waved, Max had pulled his race car up alongside Nico’s and congratulated him on P3; he also got out of his car straight away in the parc fermé to go and congratulate Nico.

Hülkenberg made just one mistake that day: after the first interviews, Silverstone winner Lando Norris carried his helmet to the room where the drivers prepare for the podium ceremony.

Nico: “What do I need that for?” Answer: In this special room, the helmets of the top three are always displayed.

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The extent to which Hülkenberg is liked in the Formula 1 paddock was evident in various ways: it’s not often that spontaneous applause breaks out in the media centre as the chequered flag falls, but that’s exactly what happened for Nico.

At Sauber, emotions ran high – and no wonder: Hülkenberg had given Sauber its first podium finish since Kamui Kobayashi at Suzuka, Japan, in 2012. Kobayashi finished third that day behind Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) and Felipe Massa (Ferrari).

At some point, someone at Sauber realised they were running low on champagne. Shortly afterwards, the fine stuff started flowing in from rivals, with best regards from Aston Martin and Mercedes.

Hülki became the first German on the podium since Sebastian Vettel in Baku in 2021 and the oldest driver to make his first appearance on an F1 podium since the American George Follmer in Spain in 1973 – who was actually 39 years old at the time.

A curious detail: Nico had waited 15 years for a podium finish in the premier class, and then the trophy turned out to be made of Lego bricks (a special promotion by Lego in collaboration with Formula 1). Nico grinned: “Well, it doesn’t bother me. I like Lego, and besides, my daughter can play with it later.”

Sauber drivers have secured 28 podium finishes in Formula 1, but no one has come from further back on the grid to achieve one than Nico – making up 16 places, from P19 to P3.

Now Nico Hülkenberg is returning to England as an Audi driver. The Emmerich native says: “Silverstone is a circuit I’ve always enjoyed, and last year’s podium finish gives me plenty of good memories heading into the race. As it’s a sprint weekend, it’ll be a busy one where every lap counts. Hopefully we can build on the positives and turn them into a solid result.”

“There have been some positive signs in recent races, even if the results haven’t always reflected the potential of our package. The important thing is to keep working hard, execute things cleanly and get the most out of our car – if we manage that, the results will follow.”