Nico Hülkenberg entered the British Grand Prix with a record no driver wants — the longest-ever streak without having reached a podium. He had 238 starts without reaching the top three, but at Silverstone, with a bit of weather, his luck changed, and he found himself hoisting a trophy and spraying champagne for the first time in Formula One.
There has since been three weeks off between the British Grand Prix and the next race at Spa in Belgium, and Hülkenberg had a chance to celebrate and reflect on his stunning finish at Silverstone.
And with that comes solace, but perhaps also a bit of confidence.
“Yeah, surprisingly they’ve been very good and actually nice to have a bit of time after,” Hülkenberg said. “To enjoy the moment properly and not to dive straight into the next Grand Prix — so that was a good timing as well from that point of view.
“But obviously, just an incredible race and those conditions, very tricky. But made all the right decisions and obviously rewarded ourselves coming from last, which was pretty crazy and special. The aftermath was also overwhelming; the feedback and responses — we got well over 700 messages, so it took me a good week to work through it all.
“But obviously amazing and nice to feel and then to see all that.”
Now, expectations for the German-born driver are rising. KICK Sauber’s performance has gotten better throughout the course of the season, and with the change to Audi next year, they’ll continue to escalate.
After getting on the podium in the last race, Hülkenberg is optimistic about his constructor’s trajectory. Though noting that the rain aided his podium finish, it is supposed to rain at Spa-Francorchamps on Sunday, as well. And given that Sauber is improving, anything can happen.
Hülkenberg isn’t shooting for first-place finishes — of course, the expectation there centers around McLaren, Ferrari, and a Max Verstappen-led Red Bull. But improving KICK Sauber’s position among the teams in the midfield? That’s doable.
“I think we’re definitely on a good run lately, obviously,” Hülkenberg said. “Silverstone — set aside special race special circumstances, I think you also have to remember on Saturday both cars were out in Q1, and it didn’t look that fantastic. And had it been a dry race, it would have been a totally different story and outcome, so you always have to remember that, too.
“But definitely, from Barcelona, we gained some momentum. We made a big step forward with the car. And especially in the long stints in the race on Sunday, we have a good race car now and we can we can do something — even with not the best starting positions. And I think, yeah, the best news of the season so far, but there’s still a lot of work ahead and still a very competitive and tough fight in the midfield there.”
Practice at Spa is set for one session on Friday before sprint race qualifying later in the day. The sprint and qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix will take place on Saturday, with the race proper set for Sunday.
