We're only a few years removed from Nico Hulkenberg only seeming anymore to be a super-sub reserve for teams in need of a driver in a pinch. Then, three years removed from a full-time ride, Hulk was back in F1 with Haas in what seemed to be an odd move at the time. A low-level team taking in a mid-30s driver who had never appeared on a podium.
And then the results came in — he beat teammate Kevin Magnussen by a bit in 2023, and in a blowout in 2024. He clearly deserved his spot, and with that in mind, he jetted off to Sauber for 2025, with a spot on the German Audi team ready for him next year when they rebrand.
Hulkenberg's stats
Standings Position: 9th
Points: 37
Best Finish: 3rd
Best Qualifying Position: 11th
Head-to-head race finishes (vs. Bortoleto): 8-5
Head-to-head qualifying: 6-8
Head-to-head points: 37-14
Hulkenberg continues to surprise, even if we shouldn't still be shocked
F1 is a sport where analyzing the numbers and driver performances requires a bit of nuance. So when you see that Hulkenberg posted more points in one go in 2025 than the entire Sauber lineup did across 24 race weekends in 2024, does that mean the car took a leap forward? Or is the new lineup that much stronger?
While the answer is probably a mix of both, you have to give maximum praise to Hulkenberg for stepping in a car for a new team, and on debut, in the pouring rain, exiting with a P7.
Sauber and Hulkenberg then went quiet for the following seven race weekends, making the team's 2025 debut result look like a flash in the pan that was more a case of surviving the slippery Melbourne streets. But all of a sudden, Hulkenberg came back strong.
In a Sauber, Hulkenberg posted points in four straight weekends -- the last time Hulkenberg himself did that was mid-2019 with Renault. Over his strongest period of 2025, he was good for an average finish of 6.25.
This wild section was highlighted by P5 in Spain, where he held off Lewis Hamilton in a Ferrari. And, of course, his maiden F1 podium in Silverstone, after 239 tries in what once seemed like a fruitless journey that would never have its happy ending.
With 37 points, Hulk sits ninth in the drivers' championship, and with his teammate's hot form of late, Sauber is in a serious battle for P6 in the constructors' race.
Hulk's qualifying pace is rough but makes his season more impressive
Here are the two drawbacks on Hulkenberg that may have dropped his ranking down a bit: back-to-back races without points going into the break (while Bortoleto scored in both) and his tough qualifying form.
It almost sounds like an error when we say that Hulkenberg, despite his top 10 points spot, podium and 37 points, has not made it to Q3 one single time in 2025. That includes all 14 grand prix quali sessions, plus the three sprint qualifying efforts. Not one single top 10 shootout.
In fact, he has started in the bottom quarter of the grid 9 of 14 times for grand prixs, and 11 of 17 if you add in sprints.
It's because of that that rookie Bortoleto has a qualifying head-to-head advantage.
Weirdly, it also adds an extra level of impressiveness to what he's accomplished. He moved up 16 spots to get his podium in England. A 10-position jump for P5 in Spain. And a drive from last to 9th in Austria. In races he has finished, Hulkenberg is averaging a 4.7-place jump from grid slot to finishing position.
Props are due for Sauber's strategies in some of these situations, but Hulkenberg executed perfectly as well. It really begs the question of what he vet is capable of if he can sort out the one-lap pace.