Background and career
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. He was then promoted 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 Mexico City 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 (267) and the most starts before a podium (239), before breaking the podium-less streak at the 2025 British Grand Prix. Hülkenberg is contracted to remain at Audi until at least the end of the 2027 season.
Hülkenberg was born in Emmerich am Rhein, North Rhine-Westphalia, West Germany to Klaus Dieter Hülkenberg and Susanne Hülkenberg. Dieter Hülkenberg owns a shipping company, Hülkenberg Spedition e. K, based in Emmerich am Rhein. Hülkenberg trained as a freight forwarding agent at his father's company. He is fluent in German, Dutch, French, and English. Hülkenberg lives in Monaco. He is married to Lithuanian fashion designer Eglė Ruškytė, having been in a relationship with her since 2015. Together, they have one daughter born in 2021. Hülkenberg was previously managed by Willi Weber, the long-time manager of Michael Schumacher. Weber predicted that Hülkenberg would be ready for Formula One by 2008. He also praised Hülkenberg as an "unbelievable talent" and said he reminded him of Schumacher as a young driver. He also stated that he nicknamed him "The Hulk", after the fictional superhero, in reference to Hülkenberg changing his personality whilst at the wheel.
Hülkenberg made his karting debut in 1997, at the age of 10. In 2002 he was German Junior Karting Champion and the following year he won the German Kart Championship.
Hülkenberg made his German Formula BMW debut in 2005, dominating the championship and winning the title comfortably. He finished first in the Formula BMW world final but was stripped of the win after it was claimed he had brake-tested his rivals during a safety car period.
Hülkenberg also joined the German A1 Grand Prix team for the 2006–07 season. Nine wins in his rookie season made him the most successful driver in A1GP history. It meant he almost single-handedly won Germany the championship with 128 points, 35 more than Team New Zealand.
Hülkenberg finished fifth in the German Formula Three Championship (ATS Formel 3 Cup) in 2006. For 2007 he switched to the Formula 3 Euro Series with the ASM team that had taken Lewis Hamilton and Paul di Resta to the last two championships. His first win came at the Norisring from 18th on the grid, he won again in the rain at Zandvoort and added a third at the Nürburgring. But he ran into trouble at Magny-Cours, being penalised in qualifying for passing the chequered flag twice, and crashing into Filip Salaquarda in the race. Hülkenberg finished his rookie season 3rd in the championship, with four wins and 72 points. Hülkenberg won the non-championship Masters of Formula 3 race at Zolder from teammate (and F3 Euro Series championship leader) Romain Grosjean after Grosjean stalled at the start. Hülkenberg won the Formula 3 Euro Series championship in 2008. He amassed 76 of his total of 85 points during the feature races on Saturdays, taking seven wins in the progress.
