| Capital: | € 15 million |
|---|---|
| Age: | 32 |
| Born: | Aug 19, 1987 |
| Country of origin: | Germany |
| Source of wealth: | Formula 1 driver |
| Last updated: | 2024 |
Short introduction
Nicolas “Nico” Hülkenberg is a German racing driver who was most recently active for Renault in Formula 1. In 2010, the Emmerich, who lives in Monaco, made his debut in the “premier class” of racing. Although Hülkenberg drove for rather underclass teams and thus could not achieve a single victory, he is valued for his skill and is therefore one of the best known and most popular racing drivers in Germany. He is considered to be the driver in Formula 1 with the most race starts without even being on the podium. After the 2019 season, Hülkenberg did not receive a new contract in Formula 1.
Early life
Nico Hülkenberg was born on August 19, 1987 in Emmerich on the Dutch border. He gained his first experience in racing at the age of nine as a kart driver. Hülkenberg celebrated its first major success six years later by winning the German Junior Championship in 2002. Finally, one year later when he was 16, he also won the regular German Kart Championship. However, when he switched to the formula series, he was not yet considered a professional and completed an apprenticeship. Nico Hülkenberg became manager of Willi Weber, who also managed the Schumacher brothers.
Career
In 2005, Nico Hülkenberg took a cockpit in the German Formula BMW and won it in his first season after eight wins. In the subsequent world final, he secured third place. He finished fifth at the German Formula 3 Cup in 2006 and won the A1GP series the following year. With third place in the Formula 3 Euro Series, Hülkenberg made headlines for the first time in 2007. The following year he won the competition with seven victories and was also active as a test driver for the F1 racing team Williams. Nico Hülkenberg then also won the title in the GP2 series and was thus committed to Formula 1 by Williams.
In the 2010 season, Nico Hülkenberg was the second driver behind Rubens Barrichello. In the 18th race of the season, he landed on pole for the first time after qualifying. Hülkenberg benefited from the changing weather conditions, but was unable to defend first place in the race that followed and ended up eighth. Finally, Nico Hülkenberg ended the season in 14th place in the drivers’ classification and switched to the Force India racing team in 2011.
There he was initially active as a test and replacement driver, as was the case at Williams. Finally, he prevailed here in 2012 as a regular driver. This year Nico Hülkenberg was able to break away from the top field several times, but also had to cope with a few losses. Nevertheless, with an eleventh place in the drivers’ standings, he achieved an increase compared to his time at Williams. After another move to Sauber, he improved by another place and, with 51 points, collected 45 points more than his team-mate Esteban Gutiérrez. Then Hülkenberg returned to Force India for two years and again occupied midfield places in the overall ranking after the season. From the 2017 season, Nico Hülkenberg finally started for the Renault Formula 1 team. Here, too, he was able to repeat his performances from previous years, but still remained without a podium. After three years at Renault, Nico Hülkenberg initially retired from Formula 1 at the end of the 2019 season.
Career highlights
Nico Hülkenberg completed his first race in Formula 1 on March 14th, 2010. At the Bahrain Grand Prix, he eventually finished 14th. In the third race of the season, Hülkenberg won his first point in the drivers’ championship. At the Grand Prix in Brazil in 2010, the racing driver also started from pole position for the first time and only for the first time. Nico Hülkenberg also enjoyed success outside of Formula 1. In 2015 he started with teammates Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber for Porsche in the 24-hour race at Le Mans and finally achieved overall victory.
Famous quotes
“On the long straight [in Shanghai] you have enough time to pay your taxes and drink an espresso.”
“In Formula 1 there will never be equal opportunities. It is a technical sport and not tennis. ”
Amazing facts
Before his professional racing career, Nico Hülkenberg completed an apprenticeship as a forwarding agent. His employer was his father of all people, who owned the company.
Nico Hülkenberg collected his first point in his third race when he finished tenth. Not a single win has contributed to his over 500 points in the World Cup.
Nico Hülkenberg is fluent in Dutch and shows no signs of accent, which is why many fans rate his Dutch as better than that of Belgian-born Dutchman Max Verstappen.
In 2019, Nico Hülkenberg took part in the RTL show “Ninja Warrior”, in which a fitness course has to be completed. However, Hülkenberg failed and was eliminated in the first round.
