What lasts long will be good: With his first podium, Nico Hülkenberg ended a black series at the race in Silverstone and fulfilled a dream. The German’s lack of podium has already been legendary, so it is not surprising that many were happy with the clean pilot – even rivals.
“It’s great for him,” says Haas driver Esteban Ocon. “It is really nice to see how Nico fought hard for so many years and now finally gets the podium that he deserves completely. I sent him a message right after the race and told him how much I am happy for him.”
But the Frenchman was not the only one: “I got over 700 messages,” laughs Hülkenberg at the press conference in Spa. “It took a week to process everyone, but it was great to see how much support there was.”
There were not only applause from colleagues and opponents on the track, but of course also from the clean work in Hinwil, where you have been waiting for a podium since 2012. “It was important to go back and share the moment with everyone in the factory,” says Hülkenberg, who describes the reactions as “very warm and happy”.
“They are great memories and emotions for us, and I hope that they will give us a boost for the rest of the season.”
The German was of course aware that he was by far the driver with the longest career without a podium. This fact was not active in his head. “As a driver, you always want to get the best result. Of course you dream of achieving things like that, but it is not always in your control. So it didn’t really work me,” he says.
“I am confident, satisfied and enjoy the season and the challenge. That is the most important thing for me.”
Since Barcelona more points than Red Bull
For Sauber, however, it was even more important in the constructor World Cup. The 15 points of Hülkenberg catapulted the racing team forward in sixth place and meant the fourth point result in a row. Since the upgrade in Spain, clean has been at least eighth in every race. “We are definitely on a good series,” Hülkenberg nods appreciatively.
During this time, the racing team even scored more points than Red Bull. “We have won momentum since Barcelona. We made great progress, especially in the race on long stints,” he praises.
“We now have a good car with which we can also do something from bad start positions. This is the best news of the season so far, but there is still a lot of work, and the fight in midfield is hard and very competitive.”
Hülkenberg also knows: Silverstone was a special race under special circumstances. “On Saturday, both cars were already eliminated in Q1, that didn’t look great,” he warns. “If it had been a dry race, there would have been a completely different story.”
Clean with chances in fifth place?
Nevertheless: progress among the Swiss are unmistakable. So much so that it is even spoken about the fifth World Cup place – so good was clean (except during the factory period under BMW) since 2002. Williams is currently 18 points ahead.
Asked, says Hülkenberg, that “many teams” can still be fifth. “I think all midfield teams have a realistic chance. It will depend heavily on the route and who is better that weekend. It is a very tight fight and we have the opportunity to fight for this position.”
But he also knows: Silverstone will probably not repeat itself so quickly. Instead, the second half of the season should be about whether you end up in the points or not. “We recently had a strong racing car with good tire management. I hope we can use that to get more points.”