Nico Hülkenberg
Nicolas Hülkenberg (German pronunciation: [ˈniːko ˈhʏlkənbɛɐ̯k]; born 19 August 1987) is a German racing driver who competes in Formula One for Audi. In endurance racing, Hülkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 with Porsche.
Born and raised in Emmerich am Rhein, Hülkenberg began competitive kart racing at age 10, winning several national titles before graduating to junior formulae in 2005. Hülkenberg won his first championship in Formula BMW ADAC that year. He then won the 2006–07 A1 Grand Prix series, representing Germany. After winning the 2007 Masters of Formula 3 and the 2008 Formula 3 Euro Series, Hülkenberg progressed to the GP2 Series in 2009 with ART; he won the championship in his debut season, becoming the third driver to win the GP2/Formula 2 title in their rookie season after Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.
Following test driver roles from 2007 to 2009, Hülkenberg signed for Williams in 2010, making his Formula One debut at the Bahrain Grand Prix. After claiming his maiden pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix, he was replaced by Pastor Maldonado at the end of the season. He joined Force India as a reserve driver in 2011, who promoted him to a full-time seat for the 2012 season. In 2013, he competed for Sauber, before returning to Force India in 2014 to partner Sergio Pérez. After his 2015 and 2016 campaigns at Force India, Hülkenberg switched to Renault for 2017. Replaced by Esteban Ocon at the end of 2019, he returned to Force India—then known as Racing Point and later re-branded as Aston Martin—as a reserve driver from 2020 to 2022; Hülkenberg substituted for Pérez and Lance Stroll at three Grands Prix in 2020, and for Sebastian Vettel at two in 2022. He returned as a full-time driver with Haas in 2023 and 2024, alongside Kevin Magnussen. Hülkenberg re-joined Sauber for his 2025 campaign, where he achieved his maiden podium at the British Grand Prix, ahead of their acquisition by Audi in 2026.
As of the 2026 Chinese Grand Prix, Hülkenberg has achieved one pole position, two fastest laps, and one podium finish in Formula One. He holds the Formula One records for the most starts without a win (251) and the most starts before a podium (239). Hülkenberg is contracted to remain at Audi until at least the end of the 2027 season.