Nico Hulkenberg

Nicolas Hulkenberg, also known as “Hulk,” is a German racing driver who drives for the Haas Formula 1 Team in the 2024 Formula 1 World Championship.

As a ten-year-old, young Nicolas "Nico" Hulkenberg joined his first karting race. After his success in karting, the German moved up to the Formula BMW series in 2005, where he won the title by a considerable margin, showing his great potential.

In 2006, Hulkenberg joined the German A1 Grand Prix team, he went on to win the German Formula 3 series title. Joining the Formula 3 Euro Series, Hulkenberg finished the season in third place but came back the next season to win the championship.

Making his debut in GP2 Asia, despite making an appearance in only four of the races, Hulkenberg managed to finish the season in P6 while also serving his role as a test driver for the Williams Formula 1 team. Nico Hulkenberg won the GP2 series the following season.

In 2010, Hulkenberg made his debut in Formula 1, joining the Williams team alongside Rubens Barrichello. Some of the highlights of the season include his career first pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix and claiming 6th place at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

After Willams confirmed he would not be driving for the team the following season, Nico Hulkenberg became a reserve driver at Force India for the 2011 season, after which he would join the team as one of the two main drivers for the 2012 season.

After out-qualifying his teammate 12 times and achieving great results like 4th place during the Belgian Grand Prix, the German driver headed to the Sauber racing team for the 2013 season. During his season at Sauber, Hulkenberg yet again proved his racing skills, scoring fifth and fourth-place finishes during the season.

Making a return to Force India for seasons 2014, 2015, and 2016, he helped the team achieve sixth, fifth, and fourth place in the Constructor’s championship. "Hulk" achieved consistent results, just always missing the podium with his best performances, achieving multiple 5th and one 4th place finishes.

For the years 2017-2019, Nico Hulkenberg moved to the Renault team. His time at Renault can be characterized by consistent performances and helping the team achieve valuable points in the Constructor’s championship.

After 2019, Nico Hulkenberg did not renew his contract with the Renault team, and the German driver did not have a contract until the season of 2023. In November 2022, it was confirmed that Nico Hulkenberg would return to Formula 1, this time driving for Haas. He remains Haas F1 driver at least until the end of the 2024 season.

Despite showing great potential and very strong performances during his career, Nico Hulkenberg is a holder of a record for the most race starts in Formula 1 without achieving a podium finish.