Nico Hulkenberg finally lands F1 podium and puts Sauber in the fight for millions

On a day like Sunday, remember back to season 1 of "Drive to Survive." Nico Hulkenberg makes an appearance at a store for some kids. The kids ask the then-Renault driver if he's ever won, to which he disappoints them when he says he hasn't accomplished much in Formula 1.

At Sunday's British Grand Prix, Hulkenberg didn't win, but he finally got to celebrate a podium after 239 F1 appearances. You think those kids would be proud of him now?

Hulkenberg negotiated a perfect rain strategy, multiple race stoppages and the challenge of Lewis Hamilton to take P3 at Silverstone.

Unlike a controversial finishing order for the top two, Hulkenberg definitely earned his place on the podium.

It's A long time coming for Nico Hulkenberg

Hulkenberg erases himself from the active list of F1 drivers without a podium. It took him 239 starts -- now the leader on that list is Adrian Sutil ... who had 111 less starts than Hulkenberg (128).

Unfortunately Hulkenberg still heads up the list for starts without a win, but maybe Sunday's result (and the promise of Audi coming in next year) can help him dream bigger.

Hulkenberg came into this weekend with some close calls in his career. Anyone who has seen him drive since his 2010 debut can't deny his talent, but things just have never fallen his way.

There was the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix where Hulkenberg not only could've put himself on the podium, but won too, but he spun into Lewis Hamilton. Then in front of home fans at the 2019 German Grand Prix, also in rainy conditions, Hulkenberg crashed out from P2.

Rain has afforded Hulkenberg so many opportunities, but Sunday finally delivered them.

A massively popular result

Hulkenberg finally breaking through for his first podium was a feel good moment for everyone.

"I don't think I can comprehend what we've just done. Oh my god."

Nico Hulkenberg

One of the first on the radio to celebrate with Hulkenberg was teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, who crashed out of the British Grand Prix.

Hulkenberg's incredible season has Sauber in the hunt for a big pay day

How about these stats for Hulk:

- Ninth in the drivers' standings

- Sauber is up to P6 in the constructors' championship
- Hulkenberg now has four consecutive points finishes, with a points haul of 31 over that period.

To put into perspective how monumental of an improvement this has been, Sauber scored four points for the entire season in 2024 -- and their first points did not come until late November.

Credit is due to Hulkenberg and the team alike. This 2025 lineup is leagues better than the Zhou/Bottas duo last year, but as Hulkenberg knows too well, you can be a massive talent, but it does not matter if you don't have the car under you. So the Sauber team has clearly taken steps forward in car prep too.

Now can Sauber dare to dream big? They catapult into sixth in the constructors' standings and sit just 18 points behind Williams for fifth.

Catching Williams might be unattainable, as they've fallen backwards due to some reliability issues, but their ceiling is much higher than Sauber overall.

But sixth is definitely a worthy goal for Hulkenberg and Bortoleto, as tough as it might be to fend off challenges from Racing Bulls and Aston Martin.

To put that into perspective, finishing in dead last (as they did last season) and sixth (where they sit now) is a projected difference of over $30 million for the team's prize money total.

How many more points Hulk can put on the board, and whether rookie Bortoleto can help out his experienced teammate, will mean all the difference on if Sauber can capture P6 in 2025.