Nicolas Hülkenberg (German pronunciation:[ˈniːkoˈhʏlkənbɛɐ̯k]; born 19 August 1987) is a Germanracing driver who competes inFormula One forAudi. Inendurance racing, Hülkenberg won the24 Hours of Le Mans in2015 withPorsche.
Born and raised inEmmerich am Rhein, Hülkenberg began competitivekart racing at age 10, winning several national titles before graduating tojunior formulae in 2005. Hülkenberg won his first championship inFormula BMW ADAC that year. He then won the2006–07 A1 Grand Prix series, representingGermany. After winning the2007 Masters of Formula 3 and the2008 Formula 3 Euro Series, Hülkenberg progressed to theGP2 Series in2009 withART; he won the championship in his debut season, becoming the third driver to win the GP2/Formula 2 title in their rookie season afterNico Rosberg andLewis Hamilton.
Following test driver roles from2007 to2009, Hülkenberg signed forWilliams in2010, making his Formula One debut at theBahrain Grand Prix. After claiming his maidenpole position at theBrazilian Grand Prix, he was replaced byPastor Maldonado at the end of the season. He joinedForce India as a reserve driver in2011, who promoted him to a full-time seat for the2012 season. In2013, he competed forSauber, before returning to Force India in2014 to partnerSergio Pérez. After his2015 and2016 campaigns at Force India, Hülkenberg switched toRenault for2017. Replaced byEsteban Ocon at the end of2019, he returned to Force India—then known asRacing Point and later re-branded asAston Martin—as a reserve driver from2020 to2022; Hülkenberg substituted for Pérez andLance Stroll at three Grands Prix in 2020, and forSebastian Vettel at two in 2022. He returned as a full-time driver withHaas in2023 and2024, alongsideKevin Magnussen. Hülkenberg re-joined Sauber for his2025 campaign, where he achieved his maiden podium at theBritish Grand Prix, ahead of their acquisition byAudi in2026.
As of the2025 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, Hülkenberg has achieved one pole position, two fastest laps, and one podium finish in Formula One. He holds theFormula One records for themost starts without a win (250) and themost starts before a podium (239). Hülkenberg is contracted to remain at Audi until at least the end of the 2026 season.
Hülkenberg was born inEmmerich am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia,West Germany to Klaus Dieter Hülkenberg and Susanne Hülkenberg. Dieter Hülkenberg owns a shipping company, Hülkenberg Spedition e. K, based in Emmerich am Rhein. Hülkenberg trained as a freight forwarding agent at his father's company.[1] He is fluent in German, Dutch, French, and English.[2]
Hülkenberg lives inMonaco. He is married to Lithuanian fashion designer Eglė Ruškytė, having been in a relationship with her since 2015.[3] Together, they have one daughter born in 2021.[4]
Hülkenberg was previously managed byWilli Weber, the long-time manager ofMichael Schumacher. Weber predicted that Hülkenberg would be ready forFormula One by2008. He also praised Hülkenberg as an "unbelievable talent" and said he reminded him of Schumacher as a young driver. He also stated that he nicknamed him "The Hulk", after the fictional superhero, in reference to Hülkenberg changing his personality whilst at the wheel.[5]
Hülkenberg made hiskarting debut in 1997, at the age of 10. In 2002 he was German Junior Karting Champion and the following year he won the German Kart Championship.[6]
Hülkenberg made his GermanFormula BMW debut in 2005, dominating the championship and winning the title comfortably. He finished first in the Formula BMW world final but was stripped of the win after it was claimed he had brake-tested his rivals during a safety car period.[6]
Hülkenberg also joined theGerman A1 Grand Prix team for the2006–07 season. Nine wins in his rookie season made him the most successful driver in A1GP history. It meant he almost single-handedly won Germany the championship with 128 points, 35 more thanTeam New Zealand.[6]
Hülkenberg finished fifth in theGerman Formula Three Championship (ATS Formel 3 Cup) in 2006. For2007 he switched to theFormula 3 Euro Series with theASM team that had takenLewis Hamilton andPaul di Resta to the last two championships. His first win came at theNorisring[6] from 18th on the grid, he won again in the rain atZandvoort[7] and added a third at theNürburgring.[8] But he ran into trouble atMagny-Cours, being penalised in qualifying for passing the chequered flag twice, and crashing intoFilip Salaquarda in the race.[6] Hülkenberg finished his rookie season 3rd in the championship, with four wins and 72 points.
Hülkenberg won the non-championshipMasters of Formula 3 race atZolder from teammate (and F3 Euro Series championship leader)Romain Grosjean after Grosjean stalled at the start.[9] Hülkenberg won the Formula 3 Euro Series championship in2008. He amassed 76 of his total of 85 points during the feature races on Saturdays, taking seven wins in the progress.[citation needed]
Hülkenberg made hisGP2 Asia Series début for theART Grand Prix team at the third round of the2008–09 GP2 Asia Series inBahrain, replacingPastor Maldonado, and he took pole position on his first attempt.[10] He finished both races in fourth place and this left him in seventh place in the championship. His second race weekend inQatar, saw him become the first night race pole-sitter, and promptly turned that into becoming the first race-winner under lights after a dominant performance. Such was his performance that he ended up over thirteen seconds clear of second-placed driverSergio Pérez.[11] He finished third in the sprint race, taking his championship points tally to 27 from just four races. Despite this, Maldonado returned to the seat for the final two rounds and Hülkenberg finished sixth in the championship.
Hülkenberg continued with ART into the2009 GP2 Series, partneringPastor Maldonado. He was point-less in the first round inCatalunya, then scored his first points inMonaco, including a podium in the sprint race, where the top eight on the starting grid are the feature race finishers in reversed order. At the following round atIstanbul Park he took his first pole position, but did not make the podium in either race. AtSilverstone he again scored in both races, including a podium in the sprint race. He took his first win in dominant fashion at hishome round, starting from pole position and taking the fastest lap. In the sprint race he rose from eighth to win the race with the fastest lap, becoming the first driver to do the weekend double sinceGiorgio Pantano atMonza in the2006 season. In doing so, he became only the second driver to complete the clean sweep, with pole position, two fastest laps and two wins, followingNelson Piquet Jr. who did so at theHungaroring in 2006. Hülkenberg won again at theHungaroring, in the feature race; again atValencia, this time during the sprint race, having finished second while starting from pole in the feature race; then came home second in theBelgian feature race. He clinched the title with two races to spare, after a third-place finish in theMonza sprint race which gave him an unassailable 22-point lead heading into the final round, and in the process became the first driver to clinch the championship without the need for a final round decider. He became the third rookie GP2 champion afterNico Rosberg andLewis Hamilton, and the second behind Hamilton to win the GP3/F3 title, and the GP2/F2 title in consecutive years. A fifth win followed atAlgarve, allowing Hülkenberg to break the 100-point barrier, as he eventually won the title by 25 points fromVitaly Petrov. Worthy of note is that Hülkenberg ended the season 64 points clear of his teammatePastor Maldonado, who would win the title the following season and take his Williams F1 race seat for the2011 season.
Hülkenberg first drove aFormula One car in a test forWilliams in 2007. His manager,Willi Weber, had organised the test after failing to conclude a deal with Renault bossFlavio Briatore. The two-day test was held at theCircuito de Jerez in Spain, and Hülkenberg outpaced Williams's driverKazuki Nakajima, and set laptimes 0.4 seconds slower thanNico Rosberg.[12] Hülkenberg's performance at the test led to the Williams team signing him as atest driver, and he competed in several test sessions in addition to racing in lower formulae.[12] His test contract with Williams was extended for 2009, despite in-season tests being banned from that season.[13] Hülkenberg would also act as the team'sreserve driver, in the event of the regular drivers being unable to compete.
On 2 November 2009, Hülkenberg was confirmed to race for Williams in2010.[14] Hülkenberg's teammate for his first season would be the experienced driverRubens Barrichello, who moved fromBrawn GP which in turn was bought out byMercedes-Benz.
Hülkenberg made his debut at theBahrain Grand Prix, recovering from an early spin to finish in fourteenth position. At the second round inAustralia, he was involved in a first-lap incident withKamui Kobayashi, after the Japanese driver's front wing failed and sent him into the barrier, rebounding into the path of Hülkenberg. At the third round inMalaysia, Hülkenberg made it to Q3 for the first time, qualifying in fifth place; out-qualifying teammate Barrichello for the first time. Hülkenberg looked set to finish eleventh in the race untilFernando Alonso blew his engine three laps from the end, thus promoting Hülkenberg to tenth place and with the new-for-2010points system, Hülkenberg along withJaime Alguersuari scored their first points in Formula One. He was tenth again at Silverstone, and at theHungarian Grand Prix he finished sixth, a career best. He also picked up points finishes in Italy, Singapore, and Korea. At theJapanese Grand Prix,Renault driver Vitaly Petrov misjudged a move at the start and cut across Hülkenberg's nose thus taking them both out of the race. Towards the end of the season there were reports that he could lose his seat at Williams to theGP2 Series championPastor Maldonado due to the money Maldonado could bring to the team.[15]Force India'sAdrian Sutil was also linked to replace Hülkenberg at Williams.
On 6 November, Hülkenberg gained his first Formula One pole position, by 1.049 seconds overSebastian Vettel at theBrazilian Grand Prix in a rain-affected qualifying session. This was the Williams team's first pole position since the2005 European Grand Prix. Hülkenberg completed a final lap after pole position was already secured, increasing his gap to the rest of the field.[16] After losing the lead on the opening lap, he eventually finished the race in eighth place, having been passed by drivers in more competitive cars.[17]
After theAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, team bossFrank Williams confirmed that Hülkenberg would not be driving for the team in2011.[18]
On 26 January 2011, Hülkenberg was confirmed asForce India's reserve driver for the2011 season, where he would drive for the team in the Friday practice sessions.[19] He replacedPaul di Resta, who was promoted to a race position in the team. Hülkenberg competed in the first practice sessions of all the races apart fromMonaco,Hungary,Korea,India andAbu Dhabi.
On 16 December 2011, Force India announced di Resta and Hülkenberg would be their drivers for the 2012 season.[20]Hülkenberg qualified ninth for theAustralian Grand Prix, six places ahead of di Resta, but his race ended on the first lap after picking up damage in a first-corner incident before retiring further round the course. He picked up his first points for Force India the following weekend, at theMalaysian Grand Prix; he finished in ninth place, having started the race in sixteenth. He again qualified sixteenth, for theChinese Grand Prix. He achieved his best Formula One finish at the time with a fourth place at theBelgian Grand Prix. He had been running 2nd in the race, when he was jumped byKimi Räikkönen during the pit stops, before the fasterRed Bull ofSebastian Vettel passed them both. Hülkenberg did not score any points inItaly orSingapore, but collected points at all of the next five Grands Prix, except on theYas Marina Circuit where he was involved in a collision on the first lap, and subsequently retired. This was the first time he scored points in more than two races in a row.
In the last race of the season, the2012 Brazilian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg qualified 7th but was promoted to 6th afterPastor Maldonado received a 10 place grid penalty. By lap three he had moved forward two places and on lap five he passed Fernando Alonso for third place. He moved into second position when McLaren'sLewis Hamilton pitted on lap 11. Hülkenberg then passedJenson Button at the start of lap 19 to take the lead. He and Button built up a 45-second lead before the safety car was deployed because of debris on the track. He still led until he was passed by Hamilton, after sliding at the entry of Turn 8 on lap 49. On lap 55 he collided with Hamilton when the rear of Hülkenberg's car slid out while trying to pass him at Turn 1. This ended Hamilton's last race for McLaren. After being given a drive-through penalty as a result of the incident, Hülkenberg finished fifth - letting his first race win and podium finish slip through his fingers.[21] Nevertheless, this allowed him to take 11th place in the Drivers' Championship from Kamui Kobayashi.
Hülkenberg finished the year 17 points ahead of his teammate Paul di Resta and he out-qualified him 12 times, to di Resta's eight.
On 31 October 2012, Sauber confirmed that they had signed Hülkenberg for the 2013 season.[22]
Hülkenberg failed to start theAustralian Grand Prix due to a leak in the fuel system of hisSauber C32; he had qualified eleventh for the race,[23] but was withdrawn for safety reasons.[24] At theMalaysian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg qualified in twelfth, but finished the race in eighth place.[25] Hülkenberg put in his best qualifying performance of the season to date at theItalian Grand Prix to put himself 3rd on the grid. After losing two places to theFerraris ofFelipe Massa and Fernando Alonso, he managed to keep 5th place even though harried by the Mercedes ofNico Rosberg towards the end of the race. By finishing in fifth place, he overtookToro Rosso driverJean-Éric Vergne in the Drivers' Championship. His best finish was at the Korean Grand Prix where he finished 4th after close battle with Hamilton and Alonso, in which he showed impressive defending skills and made no mistakes, in a battle where he overtook Hamilton more than once.
On 3 December 2013, Force India confirmed they had signed Hülkenberg for 2014 to race alongsideSergio Pérez.[26] In the first round, Hülkenberg finished theAustralian Grand Prix in seventh place – his first finish in Melbourne – but was promoted to sixth after the disqualification of second-placedDaniel Ricciardo. He later finished fifth at theMalaysian Grand Prix, spending a large amount of time in fourth place, holding offFerrari'sFernando Alonso before being overtaken. Another fifth place at Bahrain put Hülkenberg in third place of the drivers' standings, behind the twoMercedes drivers,Lewis Hamilton andNico Rosberg.
At theChinese Grand Prix, Hülkenberg took sixth place, taking eight points. He fell to fourth place in the Drivers' Championship after Fernando Alonso finished in third place. Force India lost second in the Constructors' Championship toRed Bull Racing.
Consistent point scoring runs throughout the season meant that Hülkenberg finished the season in 9th place in the Drivers' Championship with 96 points, a career best, compared to his teammate's 59 points and helped Force India achieve sixth place in the Constructors' Championship, following the improvements of Williams and McLaren throughout the season. His best result of the season was fifth place, which he achieved four times.
In October 2014, Force India confirmed they had re-signed Hülkenberg for 2015.[27]
In the opening round inAustralia, Hülkenberg finished seventh, a lap down. However, he would not score again, in an uncompetitive Force India, untilCanada. InHungary, mid-race, he suffered a big crash at turn one when his front wing detached and he drove over it, sending him slightly airborne and into the barriers, costing him a potential fourth place. He then failed to finish five of the next seven races. InBelgium, he had a power unit failure on the way to the grid, while inSingapore, he was tagged byFelipe Massa at turn three and spun into the barriers, and received a three place grid penalty after being deemed responsible. InRussia he spun at turn two at the start and collectedMarcus Ericsson, potentially costing him a podium finish, and in theUnited States he slid intoDaniel Ricciardo and broke his front right suspension.
Hülkenberg finished the season 10th with 58 points, 20 points behind his teammate, and helped Force India to secure fifth place in the Constructors' Championship and his best result of the season was sixth, which he achieved three times.
Hülkenberg again raced for Force India in 2016 alongsideSergio Pérez.
In the opening round inAustralia, Hülkenberg finished seventh. He would finish the next two races in 15th position with the Force India being uncompetitive. InRussia, he was hit by his former teammateEsteban Gutiérrez and retired from the race. He would also retire from the next race with an oil leak. A podium, once again, escaped Hülkenberg's grasp inMonaco. He qualified fifth and was set to finish on the podium, when he got stuck in traffic following his pit stop and his teammate jumped him for the final podium place. He eventually finished sixth, passing the eventual World ChampionNico Rosberg, who had struggled throughout the race, just before the finish line on the last lap. This was followed by points finishes at the next two races. He spun in qualifying during the2016 European Grand Prix held at Baku, when the Force India was very competitive. This caused him to qualify 13th and finish 9th while Pérez qualified 2nd (demoted to seventh after a grid penalty) and finished third. At the following race inAustria, he put in another strong qualifying performance to qualify third, which became second when Nico Rosberg served his five-place grid penalty. However, he had a poor start, and was overtaken by quicker cars as the race went on, until his brakes failed and he had to retire. This was followed by five consecutive points finishes, including fourth at the2016 Belgian Grand Prix, his best result of the season, when he was initially running second after the first lap but was eventually passed by the faster cars ofDaniel Ricciardo andLewis Hamilton. At the following race inSingapore, he was involved in a first lap collision, where he was squeezed between two drivers, and had to retire from the race. Hülkenberg finished eighth at the next two races. Having announced his decision to move toRenault for the 2017 season before the2016 United States Grand Prix, Hülkenberg put on some rejuvenated performances. He qualified seventh in the US, before retiring after being squeezed in betweenValtteri Bottas andSebastian Vettel. He then qualified fifth inMexico, ahead of the Ferraris and finished seventh. He outqualified his teammate again in Brazil and was running fourth, but he picked up a puncture from debris on the track, followingKimi Räikkönen's crash, costing him a podium finish, and fell outside the points before recovering to seventh, fending off Daniel Ricciardo towards the end of the race. He capped off his season inAbu Dhabi by outqualifying Pérez again to seventh place and finishing in the same position, having survived a collision withMax Verstappen on the first lap.[28][29]
Hülkenberg scored 72 points in the season, finishing ninth in the Drivers' Championship and helping Force India finish the Constructors' Championship in fourth.[29][30]
On 14 October 2016, Renault Sport announced that Hülkenberg had signed a multiyear agreement to race with theRenault Sport Formula One team.[31]
Hülkenberg got his first points for the team at the third race of the season inBahrain with 9th place, followed by 8th inRussia. Hülkenberg then finished in 6th place inSpain, Renault's best result in the sport since returning in 2016. His point scoring streak ended inMonaco when he retired, when running in the points, with gearbox issues. He finished 8th inCanada, which was followed by a retirement inAzerbaijan, when he clumsily clipped the wall while running in a promising 6th place. InAustria, he finished 13th, finishing behind his teammateJolyon Palmer for the first time, following a bad start.
A new Renault upgrade brought massive improvement at the2017 British Grand Prix as Hülkenberg qualified and finished 6th. The car also proved to be the 'best of the rest' (behind Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull) inHungary as he qualified 7th, but a 5 place grid penalty for a new gearbox meant that he started 12th on the grid. He was set to score points in the race, before a slow pit stop dropped him down the field and he eventually retired from the race. There was an incident during the race, whenKevin Magnussen had pushed Hülkenberg off the track as they were battling for position. Magnussen received a time penalty for the incident. Hülkenberg rudely confronted Magnussen while he was interviewed by Danish TV in the media pen, labelling him 'nasty' and the 'most unsporting driver of the whole grid' and Magnussen calmly responded with 'suck my balls, mate'.[32][33] Hülkenberg entered the summer break with 26 points and in 10th place in the championship.
Hülkenberg returned from the summer break inBelgium in good form as he qualified 7th and finished 6th in the race. AtSingapore, it was announced thatCarlos Sainz Jr. would replace Jolyon Palmer, who at that time had scored 0 points to Hülkenberg's 34 points, for the 2018 season. Hülkenberg qualified 'best of the rest' in 7th. After the first lap of the race, Hülkenberg found himself in 3rd place, following the first corner collision and subsequent retirements ofSebastian Vettel,Kimi Räikkönen,Max Verstappen and the fast-starting McLaren ofFernando Alonso. He looked set to take his long-awaited first podium finish in Formula 1, untilDaniil Kvyat crashed and brought out the Safety Car and a blunder in strategy by Renault left him in 5th place. He eventually got up to 4th place, before an oil leak brought about his retirement from the race, in which he succeededAdrian Sutil to become the record holder for the most starts in Formula 1 without a podium finish.
At theJapanese Grand Prix, it was announced that Carlos Sainz Jr. would replace Palmer for the rest of the season beginning at the next Grand Prix in Austin.[34] In the race, Hülkenberg was running comfortably in the points for the majority of the race until a failure in the DRS mechanism of his car forced him to retire from the race. In their time together as teammates Hülkenberg scored 34 points to Palmer's 8 points and outqualified Palmer in all 16 races.[35][36][28]In theUSA, Hülkenberg retired on lap 4 with an engine issue.[36] InMexico, he once again retired, again from a net 4th place, with an engine issue. This was the third time in a row that he had failed to finish a race and the fourth time in five races. At theBrazilian Grand Prix, he led home teammate Sainz to 10th place, his first points in almost 3 months, with his previous points finish being his 6th-place finish at Belgium in August.He qualified 'best of the rest' inAbu Dhabi with 7th place. He finished the race in 6th place, having received a contentious 5-second penalty for passingSergio Pérez off the track at the start of the race, when many believed he should have given the position back. He ended up building enough of a gap to Pérez that the time penalty did not affect his position. With 6th place, Renault overtook Toro Rosso in the Constructors' Championship for 6th place.[37]
This confirmed Renault's position as 6th in the Constructors' Championship and moved Hülkenberg up to 43 points for the season, the same as Massa, but courtesy of more 6th-place finishes, he ended the season 10th in the standings. He had outqualified his teammates over the course of the season 19-1 and outscored his teammates 43–14 over the course of the season.
For the 2018 season, Hülkenberg remained at Renault, alongside Carlos Sainz, who was competing in his first full season for the Renault F1 team.
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Hülkenberg and Renault started the season well with a 7th and two 6th places in the first 3 races. The first race inAustralia with Sainz finishing in 10th, marked the first double points finish for Renault in F1 since the2011 Turkish Grand Prix.[38][39] At the fourth race of the season inBaku, Hülkenberg was handed a 5 place grid penalty for changing his damaged gearbox. He qualified 9th and would start 14th. This meant the end of his streak of starting the last 6 races 7th on the grid. He had made his way up to 5th place by lap 10, when he lost the rear of his car on lap 10, and clattered the wall with his left rear tyre and retired with suspension damage, ending his 5 race point-scoring streak. It was second time in two years that he had retired from a top 6 position in Baku from an unforced error.[40]
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Hülkenberg's misfortune continued at the next race inSpain. He went out in Q1 for the first time in 59 races due to a fuel pressure problem with his car. Then he was taken out by the spinningRomain Grosjean on the first lap of the race.[41] Hülkenberg criticised Grosjean's driving following the crash, for which the Frenchman received a grid penalty for the next race.[42] InMonaco, Hülkenberg was outqualified by a teammate by merit for the first time since the2016 Japanese Grand Prix. Nevertheless, he finished the race in 8th, having started in 11th, with his teammate Sainz obeying team orders late in the race to let him past.[43] He followed this up with another point-scoring finish inCanada after qualifying and finishing the race in 7th.[44] The next three races made up Formula One's first ever triple header inFrance,Austria andBritain. Hülkenberg finished 9th in France, followed by a retirement from 9th in Austria with an engine failure. It was his 3rd retirement in 6 races and his 7th retirement in his last 16 races. However, he finished the triple header on a high, finishing 6th at theBritish Grand Prix. Hülkenberg achieved his best ever result for Renault at his home grand prix inGermany with 5th place, overtakingKevin Magnussen late on when the rain started to fall. After a refuelling problem limited him to only 13th on the grid, he finished 12th at theHungarian Grand Prix. Nevertheless, he entered the summer break with 52 points and 7th in the championship as the effective leader of the midfield, which many drivers had started to dub the B championship of Formula 1 or 'Formula 1.5', due to very large gap in performance to the top three teams of Mercedes, Ferrari and Red Bull.
InBelgium, Hülkenberg triggered a massive first corner collision after starting 18th due to engine penalties.[45] Hülkenberg outbraked himself and hit Fernando Alonso, who was launched above the Sauber ofCharles Leclerc, with one of Alonso's tyres hitting the new controversially introduced safety device, the halo. The collision also ultimately ended the races of both Kimi Räikkönen and Daniel Ricciardo. Hülkenberg was deemed to have 'completely misjudged the situation' by the race stewards and handed a 10 place grid penalty for the next race. The spectacular crash was likened to the crash at the2012 Belgian Grand Prix initiated byRomain Grosjean. Following the incident, Hülkenberg who had been a vocal opposer to the halo, introduced in 2018, admitted that it was 'pretty useful'.[46]
Hülkenberg suffered a tough period of results, coinciding with Renault's loss of competitiveness, by only scoring 1 point in the next 4 races. He bounced back with a 6th-place finish at theUnited States Grand Prix. With Sainz finishing in 7th, this was the best team result for Renault in a race since they rejoined the sport in 2016, beating the 7th and 8th place the two drivers had achieved in Canada earlier in the year. This was followed by another strong race inMexico with another 6th place. His season ended with two successive retirements due to high engine temperatures inBrazil and after being rolled over into the barriers by Romain Grosjean inAbu Dhabi.
Nevertheless, Hülkenberg finished the season as the "champion of the rest" in 7th place with 69 points, 7 points ahead ofSergio Pérez, as Renault also secured 4th place in the Constructor's Championship.
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For the 2019 season, Hülkenberg was joined at Renault by multiple Grand Prix winnerDaniel Ricciardo, who was signed from Red Bull. Hülkenberg, yet to score a podium in 158 races by the beginning of the 2019 season, said his "future in the sport depends on the outcome of the duel" as his ability could be measured "against a Grand Prix winner", for the first time since his rookie season in 2010, when he was teammate toRubens Barrichello at Williams. Meanwhile, Renault managing director,Cyril Abiteboul, believed that the driver pairing was "one of the strongest - if not the strongest - driver line-up on the grid".[47]
Hülkenberg started the season strongly, outqualifying new teammate Ricciardo at hishome race, but an engine issue prevented him from reaching Q3, leaving him 11th. He made a very strong start and finished the race in 7th.[48] However, he was hit by misfortune in the next race inBahrain. An engine mapping issue restricted him to 17th in qualifying.[49] However, he had a fantastic race, moving up 11 places and being on course to finish 6th, surviving contact with Ricciardo on the way, when the Australian slid into him as Hülkenberg overtook him. Then, on lap 53, 4 laps from the end, disaster struck as both Hülkenberg and Ricciardo, running 6th and 10th respectively, both retired with engine issues at the same corner.[50] Abiteboul stated that Renault's engine problems were "unacceptable".[51] These issues were compounded, when Hülkenberg again retired from a points-scoring position with engine issues at the next race inChina, this time with a software issue.[52] InSpain, Hülkenberg crashed in qualifying and damaged his front wing. He had to fit a different specification front wing, which broke parc fermé rules, ensuring he would have to start the race in the pit lane. He would finish the race in 13th.[53] In the following race inMonaco, a chance of a points finish evaporated, when the Ferrari ofCharles Leclerc hit Hülkenberg, while attempting an overtaking move, which the German labelled "too ambitious". Both drivers suffered punctures. Hülkenberg recovered to 13th, but Leclerc eventually retired from the race.[54] He then finished the next two races in 7th and 8th place inCanada andFrance respectively. At theBritish Grand Prix, he recovered to a 10th-place finish, after he was hit by former teammate Sergio Pérez and his engine momentarily failing and going into 'limp mode', whilst also bemoaning the team's strategy.[55] Hülkenberg then crashed out of hishome race in precarious wet conditions. He was in 4th place, having run as high as 2nd at one point, when he crashed out at Turn 16, where fellow drivers Charles Leclerc, race leader Lewis Hamilton and former teammate Carlos Sainz also went off. The latter two managed to survive their incidents and continue, while both Leclerc and Hülkenberg retired. Both retirees criticised the run-off of the corner, which is a different tarmac used for dragster racing, which meant there was no grip in the wet conditions to help prevent the accident.[56] At the following race inHungary, Hülkenberg was in the running for points, but then he suffered yet another engine problem on his Renault, which meant he was only able to finish in 12th place.[57] Going into the summer break, Hülkenberg was only 14th in the championship with 17 points, 5 points behind new teammate Daniel Ricciardo in 11th place. Renault's points total of 39 points was 43 points behind the position they were in the previous year, after they suffered a disappointing first half of the season.
Just before theBelgian Grand Prix, Renault announced that Hülkenberg would be replaced by Mercedes reserve driver and former Force India driverEsteban Ocon for the 2020 season.[58] Hülkenberg said the decision was "not only about performance", alluding that the French Renault team desired a French driver in Ocon.[59] Four-time World ChampionAlain Prost, non-executive director for Renault Sport at the time, said that Renault offered Hülkenberg a new one-year contract with an option for another year, but the German refused the offer due to wanting a full two-year contract.[60]
Hülkenberg started the second half of the season strongly by qualifying 7th in Belgium. A grid penalty meant he started 12th, and he fell even further back when he took evasive action to avoid collisions involving Verstappen, Räikkönen, Ricciardo and Stroll. However, he executed an alternate two-stop strategy and made up 3 places in the last lap to finish 8th.[61] InItaly, both Renaults had a very strong weekend, with Ricciardo and Hülkenberg qualifying 5th and 6th respectively, with both drivers moving up a place to finish 4th and 5th, after Sebastian Vettel spun out of contention. This was Renault's best points haul since returning to the sport in 2016, and Hülkenberg's joint best result for the team.[62]
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InSingapore, Hülkenberg had initially qualified 9th but as teammate Daniel Ricciardo had been disqualified from qualifying as his car exceeded the MGU-K power limit, he started the race in 8th. In the race, Hülkenberg was involved in a first lap collision with former teammateCarlos Sainz Jr. Both drivers suffered punctures and had to pit on the first lap and fell to the back of the field. However, he managed to recover to 9th place for his 3rd points finish in a row.[63] Hülkenberg started thenext race in an impressive 6th place. However, his race was compromised by a bad start which left him outside the top 10. Having recovered to 9th place, the Renault pit crew dropped his car off the jack, which again dropped him out of the top 10. He eventually recovered to finish in 10th, overtaking Lance Stroll towards the end of the race. After the race, Hülkenberg said that "everything that could go wrong did go wrong".[64] Further misfortune hit Hülkenberg inJapan. He was restricted to only 15th in qualifying, after a mechanical failure in Q2 meant he could not set a representative time to progress further. However, in the race he made a fantastic start and was up to 10th place by the end of the first lap and he would end up finishing the race in that position.[65] However, following a protest by rival constructorRacing Point, both Renault cars were disqualified for having a pre-set automated brake bias system that was deemed to be a driver aid, and thus illegal.[66] This was Hülkenberg's first disqualification in his entire F1 career.
Hülkenberg then managed to salvage a point at thefollowing race with 10th after he was spun into the wall byDaniil Kvyat at the last corner of the last lap, when running in 9th. He crossed the line in 11th, without a rear wing, but was promoted to 10th after Kvyat was penalised for the incident.[67] He followed this up with yet another points finish in theUSA with 9th place.[68] He suffered a difficult race inBrazil, where two safety car periods interfered in his strategy and left him 12th on the line. He was penalised for overtakingKevin Magnussen before the safety car line during the safety car restart, and thus was classified 15th, his worst result of the year.[69] He was voted Driver of the Day in the season finale inAbu Dhabi, taking the title for the first time, after finishing 12th in what was his possible final race in Formula One, having failed to secure a drive for the 2020 season.[70][71]
Hülkenberg finished the season in 14th place, his lowest placing in the standings in the sport since his debut season in 2010, having scored 37 points across the season, 17 less than teammate Daniel Ricciardo.[72]
Hülkenberg did not have a contract for the 2020 F1 season. He replacedSergio Pérez atRacing Point for theBritish Grand Prix and70th Anniversary Grand Prix after Pérez tested positive forSARS-2 coronavirus.[73][74] For the British Grand Prix he qualified thirteenth but did not start the race due to an engine failure before the start of the race.[75] At the70th Anniversary Grand Prix, he surprisingly qualified in third behind the two Mercedes cars and was running in 4th in the race. However, due to unexpectedly high levels of tyre wear, he was forced to pit again. He then went on to finish seventh behind teammateLance Stroll.[76] Hülkenberg did not race at theSpanish Grand Prix as Pérez returned to racing after testing negative for COVID-19.[77] He would later replace Stroll for theEifel Grand Prix, after the Canadian had sat out of the final practice session due to him feeling unwell before later testing positive for COVID-19 himself. Hülkenberg finished the race in 8th after qualifying 20th, and last, on the grid, winning him the fans' vote of "Driver of the Day".[78][79][80]
Racing Point, nowAston Martin Cognizant Formula One Team, signed Hülkenberg as a reserve and development driver for the2021 season following his stand-in performances in the prior season.[81]
After retaining his role as the team's reserve driver in2022, Hülkenberg replacedSebastian Vettel at the season openingBahrain Grand Prix after Vettel tested positive forCOVID-19.[82] Hülkenberg started and finished the race in 17th place. Hülkenberg returned to Aston Martin in the following race, theSaudi Arabian Grand Prix starting in 17th and finishing in 12th place.
Hülkenberg got back into the Aston Martin in the post-Hungarian Grand Prix Pirelli tests, alongsideLance Stroll to develop the 2023 tyres.[83]
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In November 2022,Haas F1 Team announced that Hülkenberg had signed to drive for them in2023, partneringKevin Magnussen and replacing fellow German compatriotMick Schumacher.[84] The first race at theBahrain Grand Prix saw Hülkenberg qualify tenth and finish fifteenth, behind his teammate Magnussen. He had also picked up a fifteen-second penalty for exceeding track limits, which ultimately did not affect his final position in the race.[85] In the2023 Australian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg benefitted from the turn one incident in lap 57, running in fourth when the third of three red flags during the race was shown; however, he was demoted back to seventh after it was determined that the drivers would return to their previous positions before the final red flag. Haas lodged an unsuccessful protest after the race.[86] At theCanadian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg qualified in second in a wet qualifying session in which he benefited whenMcLaren'sOscar Piastri crashed at the early part of the qualifying session which brought out the red flag. The rest of the grid were not able to improve on their qualifying as the rain got heavier when the session restarted. However, Hülkenberg was handed a three-place grid penalty for a red flag infraction and started the race in fifth position.[87][88]In the race, excessive tyre wear and the unfortunate timing of a safety car meant he eventually finished 15th. At theAustrian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg qualified an impressive 4th for the Sprint in wet conditions. The Sprint, also run in wet conditions, saw him take 2nd place on the first lap, but he eventually finished 6th, securing 3 crucial points for the struggling Haas team, to take them into 7th in the Constructor's standings.[89] For the main grand prix, Hülkenberg qualified an impressive 8th, but had to retire early in the race with an engine issue.[90] By the summer break, Hülkenberg had qualified in the top 10 an impressive 6 times, compared to his teammate's singular appearance. However, the Haas team's season-long struggle with tyre wear meant that neither he nor Haas had managed to add to their points tally since Austria as Haas slipped to 8th in the championship.[91]
Hülkenberg finished 16th in the championship with 9 points to teammate Magnussen's 3. Despite the low points tally he was praised for his qualifying performances, during the season he qualified in the top ten 11 times (3 times in sprint qualifying and 8 times in normal qualifying) even though he had been out of a full time seat for three seasons.
In August 2023, Haas announced that Hülkenberg and Magnussen had been retained for the 2024 season.[92] He earned his first point of the season by finishing 10th at the2024 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix with the help of strong defending from his teammate.[93] He continued his good run of form by scoring points inAustralia andChina as well.[94] He finished 6th at theAustrian Grand Prix after holding off theRed Bull of Sergio Perez at the end of the race. Magnussen finished 8th, marking Haas's best result of the season and moving the team up to 7th place in the standings.[95] He repeated this result at theBritish Grand Prix, qualifying 6th and finishing in that position.[96] He again qualified 6th at theSingapore Grand Prix, finishing 9th after a defensive drive.[97] He finished 8th at theUnited States Grand Prix, and took 9th at theMexico City Grand Prix as Magnussen finished 7th.[98] Hülkenberg was disqualified from a rainySão Paulo Grand Prix for receiving assistance from marshals to rejoin the race after being stranded, becoming the first driver to receive a black flag since the2007 Canadian Grand Prix.[99] After finishing 8th inLas Vegas and failing to finish inQatar, Hülkenberg qualified 4th at the season-endingAbu Dhabi Grand Prix, in front of the Red Bull of championMax Verstappen. However, he started 7th after being given a three-place grid penalty for overtaking in the pit-road exit.[100] He finished 8th in the race, but fell to 11th place in the standings afterPierre Gasly finished in 7th.[101]
Hülkenberg leftHaas for his2025 campaign, withSauber signing him in preparation forAudi's takeover of the team from2026 and beyond.[102] He is partnered by reigningFIA Formula 2 championGabriel Bortoleto; the two replacedValtteri Bottas andZhou Guanyu.[103] In a wet season-openingAustralian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg finished seventh to claim six points—more than Sauber had achieved in the entirety of2024.[104] After seven Grands Prix without points,[a] including a disqualification inBahrain for excessiveskid block wear,[105] upgrades for theSpanish Grand Prix saw Sauber emerge as amidfield challenger, with Hülkenberg qualifying sixteenth and finishing fifth after a latesafety car.[106][107] He then claimed eighth at theCanadian Grand Prix, having started eleventh,[108] and ninth inAustria—behind teammate Bortoleto—after qualifying last on thegrid.[109]
At the rain-affectedBritish Grand Prix, Hülkenberg finished third to secure his maiden podium finish in Formula One after starting nineteenth, ending hisrecord 239-race streak without a top-three finish;[110] on a "perfectly-timed" strategy,[111] he held off the late advances ofLewis Hamilton to claim Sauber's first podium in13 years.[112] His performance was widely acclaimed by drivers and critics,[113] with several remarking that his first podium was "overdue".[114][115][116] He dropped outside the points again with twelfth inBelgium and thirteenth inHungary.[117][118]
Hülkenberg is contracted to retain his place alongside Bortoleto at the re-brandedAudi in2026.[102]
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It was confirmed in November 2014 that Hülkenberg would compete in the2015 24 Hours of Le Mans in a thirdfactory-backedPorsche 919 Hybrid. He also contested theSpa-Francorchamps round of theWorld Endurance Championship as preparation.[119]
On 14 June 2015, he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race, driving alongside Britain'sNick Tandy andEarl Bamber of New Zealand. They completed 395 laps, one lap ahead of the car of their Porsche teammatesMark Webber,Brendon Hartley andTimo Bernhard, who took second place. This win was Porsche's first overall victory in the event since the1998 24 Hours of Le Mans.[120] Hülkenberg's triumph made him the first active Formula One driver to win at Le Mans sinceJohnny Herbert andBertrand Gachot, who performed the same feat in1991.[121]
On 25 October 2021, Hülkenberg took part in a private IndyCar test atBarber Motorsports Park, driving the No. 7Arrow McLaren SP (AMSP) car, with AMSP team principal Taylor Kiel stating in a report that Hülkenberg was in consideration for a third part-time entry in 2022.[122] After completing over 100 laps, he set a best time of 77.454 seconds in his first test, roughly a second off of the fastest time, which was set by2021 Indy Lights runner-upDavid Malukas.[123][124] Hülkenberg ultimately declined an opportunity to pursue a career in IndyCar with McLaren, stating that he was unwilling to race on ovals and that he found theDallara DW12 to be significantly harder to drive physically than the Formula One cars he was used to.[125]
Although refusing to race IndyCars on ovals, Hülkenberg does actually have race experience on a superspeedway. As part of his2006 German Formula Three Championship campaign for teamJosef Kaufmann Racing, he raced in the ADAC East Side 100, an oval race on theEurospeedway Lausitz.
Hülkenberg has entered his own team in theeSkootr Championship, named "27X by Nico Hülkenberg".[126][127]
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Andrea Margutti Trophy — 100 Junior | 17th | |
| Italian Open Masters — ICA Junior | 14th | ||
| CIK-FIA Green Helmet Trophy – Cadet | 11th | ||
| 2001 | South Garda Winter Cup — ICA Junior | 5th | |
| Italian Open Masters — ICA Junior | 1st | ||
| CIK-FIA Green Helmet Trophy – Cadet | CRG Holland | 2nd | |
| German Karting Championship — Junior | 25th | ||
| 2002 | South Garda Winter Cup — ICA Junior | CRG Holland | 24th |
| Italian Open Masters — ICA Junior | 1st | ||
| CIK-FIA European Championship — ICA Junior | 8th | ||
| German Karting Championship — Junior | 1st | ||
| 2003 | South Garda Winter Cup — Formula A | CRG Holland | 7th |
| Andrea Margutti Trophy — Formula A | 33rd | ||
| Italian Open Masters — Formula A | 5th | ||
| German Karting Championship — Senior | 1st | ||
| CIK-FIA European Championship — Formula A | 41st | ||
| CIK-FIA World Championship — Formula A | 32nd | ||
| 2004 | South Garda Winter Cup — Formula A | CRG Holland | 28th |
| Italian Open Masters — Formula A | 8th | ||
| German Karting Championship — Senior | 2nd | ||
| Sources:[128] | |||
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Formula BMW ADAC | Josef Kaufmann Racing | 20 | 8 | 9 | 6 | 14 | 287 | 1st |
| Formula BMW World Final | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | N/A | 3rd | ||
| 2006 | German Formula 3 Championship | Josef Kaufmann Racing | 18 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 78 | 5th |
| V de V Challenge Endurance Moderne | Griffith's | 2 | 1 | 2 | ? | 1 | 50 | 17th | |
| 2006–07 | A1 Grand Prix | A1 Team Germany | 20 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 128 | 1st |
| 2007 | Formula 3 Euro Series | ASM Formule 3 | 20 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 72 | 3rd |
| Macau Grand Prix | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | N/A | 23rd | ||
| Masters of Formula 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| Formula One | AT&T Williams | Test/Reserve driver | |||||||
| 2008 | Formula 3 Euro Series | ART Grand Prix | 20 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 87 | 1st |
| Masters of Formula 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 2nd | ||
| Formula One | AT&T Williams | Test/Reserve driver | |||||||
| 2008–09 | GP2 Asia Series | ART Grand Prix | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 27 | 6th |
| 2009 | GP2 Series | ART Grand Prix | 20 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 100 | 1st |
| Formula One | AT&T Williams | Test/Reserve driver | |||||||
| 2010 | Formula One | AT&T Williams | 19 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 14th |
| 2011 | Formula One | Force India F1 Team | Test/Reserve driver | ||||||
| 2012 | Formula One | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 63 | 11th |
| 2013 | Formula One | Sauber F1 Team | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 51 | 10th |
| 2014 | Formula One | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 9th |
| 2015 | Formula One | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | 10th |
| FIA World Endurance Championship | Porsche Team | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 58 | 9th | |
| 24 Hours of Le Mans | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | N/A | 1st | ||
| 2016 | Formula One | Sahara Force India F1 Team | 21 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 72 | 9th |
| 2017 | Formula One | Renault Sport F1 Team | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 43 | 10th |
| 2018 | Formula One | Renault Sport F1 Team | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 7th |
| 2019 | Formula One | Renault F1 Team | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 14th |
| 2020 | Formula One | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | 15th |
| 2021 | Formula One | Aston Martin Cognizant F1 Team | Reserve driver | ||||||
| IndyCar | Arrow McLaren SP | Test driver | |||||||
| 2022 | Formula One | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22nd |
| 2023 | Formula One | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 22 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 16th |
| 2024 | Formula One | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 41 | 11th |
| 2025 | Formula One | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | 24 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 51 | 11th |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | HOC1 1 1 | HOC1 2 1 | LAU 1 2 | LAU 2 1 | SPA 1 4 | SPA 2 2 | NÜR1 1 1 | NÜR1 2 2 | BRN 1 3 | BRN 2 4 | OSC 1 1 | OSC 2 4 | NOR 1 19† | NOR 2 1 | NÜR2 1 3 | NÜR2 2 4 | ZAN 1 1 | ZAN 2 3 | HOC2 1 6 | HOC2 2 1 | 1st | 287 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position, races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Josef Kaufmann Racing | OSC1 1 Ret | OSC1 2 2 | HOC 1 5 | HOC 2 1 | LAU1 1 4 | LAU1 2 2 | NÜR1 1 16 | NÜR1 2 8 | NÜR2 1 5 | NÜR2 2 Ret | ASS1 1 2 | ASS1 2 2 | LAU2 1 14 | LAU2 2 8 | ASS2 1 4 | ASS2 2 3 | SAL 1 7 | SAL 2 13 | OSC2 1 | OSC2 2 | 5th | 78 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006–07 | Germany | NED SPR 4 | NED FEA 1 | CZE SPR Ret | CZE FEA 4 | BEI SPR 5 | BEI FEA Ret | MYS SPR 2 | MYS FEA 1 | IDN SPR 5 | IDN FEA 2 | NZL SPR 1 | NZL FEA 1 | AUS SPR 1 | AUS FEA 1 | RSA SPR 1 | RSA FEA 1 | MEX SPR | MEX FEA | SHA SPR 3 | SHA FEA 3 | GBR SPR 2 | GBR FEA 1 | 1st | 128 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | ART Grand Prix | Dallara F305/021 | Mercedes | HOC 1 2 | HOC 2 7 | BRH 1 4 | BRH 2 6 | NOR 1 Ret | NOR 2 1 | MAG 1 Ret | MAG 2 14 | MUG 1 21 | MUG 2 14 | ZAN 1 6 | ZAN 2 1 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 4 | CAT 1 2 | CAT 2 8 | NOG 1 3 | NOG 2 3 | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 7 | 3rd | 72 |
| 2008 | ART Grand Prix | Dallara F308/009 | Mercedes | HOC 1 Ret | HOC 2 Ret | MUG 1 1 | MUG 2 5 | PAU 1 Ret | PAU 2 16 | NOR 1 1 | NOR 2 Ret | ZAN 1 1 | ZAN 2 13 | NÜR 1 1 | NÜR 2 4 | BRH 1 1 | BRH 2 5 | CAT 1 1 | CAT 2 Ret | LMS 1 24 | LMS 2 8 | HOC 1 1 | HOC 2 3 | 1st | 87 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | ART Grand Prix | CHN FEA | CHN SPR | DUB FEA | DUB SPR | BHR1 FEA 4 | BHR1 SPR 4 | QAT FEA 1 | QAT SPR 3 | MYS FEA | MYS SPR | BHR2 FEA | BHR2 SPR | 6th | 27 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | ART Grand Prix | ESP FEA 9 | ESP SPR 14 | MON FEA 5 | MON SPR 3 | TUR FEA 5 | TUR SPR 4 | GBR FEA 3 | GBR SPR 5 | GER FEA 1 | GER SPR 1 | HUN FEA 1 | HUN SPR 7 | VAL FEA 2 | VAL SPR 1 | BEL FEA 2 | BEL SPR Ret | ITA FEA 6 | ITA SPR 3 | POR FEA 1 | POR SPR 16 | 1st | 100 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | WDC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | AT&T Williams | WilliamsFW32 | Cosworth CA2010 2.4V8 | BHR 14 | AUS Ret | MAL 10 | CHN 15 | ESP 16 | MON Ret | TUR 17 | CAN 13 | EUR Ret | GBR 10 | GER 13 | HUN 6 | BEL 14 | ITA 7 | SIN 10 | JPN Ret | KOR 10 | BRA 8 | ABU 16 | 14th | 22 | |||||
| 2011 | Force India F1 Team | Force IndiaVJM04 | Mercedes FO 108Y 2.4V8 | AUS TD | MAL TD | CHN TD | TUR TD | ESP TD | MON | CAN TD | EUR TD | GBR TD | GER TD | HUN TD | BEL TD | ITA TD | SIN | JPN TD | – | – | |||||||||
| Sahara Force India F1 Team | KOR | IND | ABU | BRA TD | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2012 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force IndiaVJM05 | Mercedes FO 108Z 2.4V8 | AUS Ret | MAL 9 | CHN 15 | BHR 12 | ESP 10 | MON 8 | CAN 12 | EUR 5 | GBR 12 | GER 9 | HUN 11 | BEL 4 | ITA 21† | SIN 14 | JPN 7 | KOR 6 | IND 8 | ABU Ret | USA 8 | BRA 5 | 11th | 63 | ||||
| 2013 | Sauber F1 Team | SauberC32 | Ferrari 056 2.4V8 | AUS DNS | MAL 8 | CHN 10 | BHR 12 | ESP 15 | MON 11 | CAN Ret | GBR 10 | GER 10 | HUN 11 | BEL 13 | ITA 5 | SIN 9 | KOR 4 | JPN 6 | IND 19† | ABU 14 | USA 6 | BRA 8 | 10th | 51 | |||||
| 2014 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force IndiaVJM07 | Mercedes PU106A Hybrid 1.6V6 t | AUS 6 | MAL 5 | BHR 5 | CHN 6 | ESP 10 | MON 5 | CAN 5 | AUT 9 | GBR 8 | GER 7 | HUN Ret | BEL 10 | ITA 12 | SIN 9 | JPN 8 | RUS 12 | USA Ret | BRA 8 | ABU 6 | 9th | 96 | |||||
| 2015 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force IndiaVJM08 | Mercedes PU106B Hybrid 1.6V6 t | AUS 7 | MAL 14 | CHN Ret | BHR 13 | ESP 15 | MON 11 | CAN 8 | AUT 6 | 10th | 58 | ||||||||||||||||
| Force IndiaVJM08B | GBR 7 | HUN Ret | BEL DNS | ITA 7 | SIN Ret | JPN 6 | RUS Ret | USA Ret | MEX 7 | BRA 6 | ABU 7 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Sahara Force India F1 Team | Force IndiaVJM09 | Mercedes PU106C Hybrid 1.6V6 t | AUS 7 | BHR 15 | CHN 15 | RUS Ret | ESP Ret | MON 6 | CAN 8 | EUR 9 | AUT 19† | GBR 7 | HUN 10 | GER 7 | BEL 4 | ITA 10 | SIN Ret | MAL 8 | JPN 8 | USA Ret | MEX 7 | BRA 7 | ABU 7 | 9th | 72 | |||
| 2017 | Renault Sport F1 Team | RenaultR.S.17 | Renault R.E.17 1.6V6 t | AUS 11 | CHN 12 | BHR 9 | RUS 8 | ESP 6 | MON Ret | CAN 8 | AZE Ret | AUT 13 | GBR 6 | HUN 17† | BEL 6 | ITA 13 | SIN Ret | MAL 16 | JPN Ret | USA Ret | MEX Ret | BRA 10 | ABU 6 | 10th | 43 | ||||
| 2018 | Renault Sport F1 Team | RenaultR.S.18 | Renault R.E.18 1.6V6 t | AUS 7 | BHR 6 | CHN 6 | AZE Ret | ESP Ret | MON 8 | CAN 7 | FRA 9 | AUT Ret | GBR 6 | GER 5 | HUN 12 | BEL Ret | ITA 13 | SIN 10 | RUS 12 | JPN Ret | USA 6 | MEX 6 | BRA Ret | ABU Ret | 7th | 69 | |||
| 2019 | Renault F1 Team | RenaultR.S.19 | Renault E-Tech 19 1.6V6t | AUS 7 | BHR 17† | CHN Ret | AZE 14 | ESP 13 | MON 13 | CAN 7 | FRA 8 | AUT 13 | GBR 10 | GER Ret | HUN 12 | BEL 8 | ITA 5 | SIN 9 | RUS 10 | JPN DSQ | MEX 10 | USA 9 | BRA 15 | ABU 12 | 14th | 37 | |||
| 2020 | BWT Racing Point F1 Team | Racing PointRP20 | Mercedes M11 EQ Performance 1.6V6t | AUT | STY | HUN | GBR DNS | 70A 7 | ESP | BEL | ITA | TUS | RUS | EIF 8 | POR | EMI | TUR | BHR | SKH | ABU | 15th | 10 | |||||||
| 2022 | Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant F1 Team | Aston MartinAMR22 | Mercedes F1 M13 E Performance 1.6V6t | BHR 17 | SAU 12 | AUS | EMI | MIA | ESP | MON | AZE | CAN | GBR | AUT | FRA | HUN | BEL | NED | ITA | SIN | JPN | USA | MXC | SAP | ABU | 22nd | 0 | ||
| 2023 | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | HaasVF-23 | Ferrari 066/10 1.6V6t | BHR 15 | SAU 12 | AUS 7 | AZE 17 | MIA 15 | MON 17 | ESP 15 | CAN 15 | AUT Ret6 | GBR 13 | HUN 14 | BEL 18 | NED 12 | ITA 17 | SIN 13 | JPN 14 | QAT 16 | USA 11 | MXC 13 | SAP 12 | LVG 19† | ABU 15 | 16th | 9 | ||
| 2024 | MoneyGram Haas F1 Team | HaasVF-24 | Ferrari 066/10 1.6V6t | BHR 16 | SAU 10 | AUS 9 | JPN 11 | CHN 10 | MIA 117 | EMI 11 | MON Ret | CAN 11 | ESP 11 | AUT 6 | GBR 6 | HUN 13 | BEL 18 | NED 11 | ITA 17 | AZE 11 | SIN 9 | USA 88 | MXC 9 | SAP DSQ | LVG 8 | QAT Ret7 | ABU 8 | 11th | 41 |
| 2025 | Stake F1 Team Kick Sauber | Kick SauberC45 | Ferrari 066/12 1.6V6t | AUS 7 | CHN 15 | JPN 16 | BHR DSQ | SAU 15 | MIA 14 | EMI 12 | MON 16 | ESP 5 | CAN 8 | AUT 9 | GBR 3 | BEL 12 | HUN 13 | NED 14 | ITA DNS | AZE 16 | SIN 20 | USA 8 | MXC Ret | SAP 9 | LVG 7 | QAT Ret | ABU 9 | 11th | 51 |
† Driver failed to finish the race, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance.
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 |  Porsche Team |  Nick Tandy Earl Bamber | Porsche 919 Hybrid | LMP1 | 395 | 1st | 1st |
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Porsche Team | LMP1 | Porsche 919 Hybrid | Porsche 2.0 L Turbo V4 (Hybrid) | SIL | SPA 6 | LMS 1 | NÜR | COA | FUJ | SHA | BHR | 9th | 58 |
The team can also confirm that Nico Hulkenberg will not contest the 2011 FIA World Championship with AT&T Williams.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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