06/07/2025 18:20
Nico Hulkenberg rightly stated, "it's been a long time coming"
after finally securing his maiden F1 podium at the 239th time of
asking. Hulkenberg has had near-misses in the past, and it has long
appeared as if he would never finish in the top three, but from
19th on the Silverstone grid, and through the chaos that unfolded
in a rain-hit British Grand Prix, the 37-year-old finished third
behind a McLaren one-two spearheaded by Lando Norris. "We have it
in us, I have it in me somewhere," said Stake driver Hulkenberg as
he also ended the Sauber organisation's 13-year wait for a podium.
"It's pretty surreal, to be honest. Not sure how it all happened,
but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival
fight for a lot of the race. "I think we were really on it. The
right calls, the right tyres at the right moment, made no mistakes.
Quite incredible." As the rain abated and the track started to dry,
it seemed as if Hulkenberg would lose third to Ferrari's Lewis
Hamilton. But the seven-time F1 champion, who was a second behind
at one point, suffered on worn inters and dropped back to 2.8s.
After pitting for slicks a lap ahead of Hulkenberg, even then
Hamilton was unable to make any inroads. "I was in denial until
probably the last pit stop, and then when I heard we gapped Lewis
quite a bit with the one extra lap, I was like, this is good, this
is some breathing space," said Hulkenberg. "But then he was
catching quite quickly. The pressure was there. It was an intense
race. But like I said, we didn't crack, no mistakes. Obviously, I'm
really, really happy with that. Fantastic!" Hulkenberg's
performance denied Hamilton a 13th successive podium at
Silverstone. The German driver insisted this was his time. "I was
thinking that he's going to give it his all here, in front of his
home crowd," said Hulkenberg. "And I was like, sorry guys, but it's
also my day. I got to stick my neck out. "Super happy. And thank
you very much for the great energy and support here every year."
