Nico Hülkenberg

Nicolas Hülkenberg (German pronunciation: [ˈniːko ˈhʏlkənbɛɐ̯k], born 19 August 1987) is a German racing driver, currently competing in Formula One for Haas. In endurance racing, Hülkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2015 with Porsche.

Graduating from karting to junior formulae in 2005, Hülkenberg won his first championship at the 2005 Formula BMW ADAC Championship. 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 with ART Grand Prix. He won GP2 in his first season, becoming the third driver to win the GP2/Formula 2 championship in their rookie season after Nico Rosberg and Lewis Hamilton.

After testing for them from 2007 to 2009, Hülkenberg graduated to Formula One with Williams in 2010. Despite claiming the first pole position for Williams in five years 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, being promoted to a race seat with the team for the 2012 season. In 2013, he competed for Sauber, before returning to Force India in 2014 to partner Sergio Pérez. After three further seasons at Force India, Hülkenberg switched to Renault for 2017. Replaced by Esteban Ocon for the 2020 season, he found himself without a seat, returning to Force India—then known as Racing Point and re-branded as Aston Martin from 2021 onwards—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 for the 2023 season, driving for Haas alongside Kevin Magnussen.

As of the 2024 Italian Grand Prix, Hülkenberg has achieved one pole position and two fastest laps in Formula One. He holds the Formula One records for the most career starts without a podium finish and the most career starts without a win (both 219). Hülkenberg is set to leave Haas at the end of the 2024 season to re-join Sauber, ahead of their acquisition by Audi.

Outside of Formula One, Hülkenberg competed in two rounds of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship for Porsche, winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans at his first attempt.