Formula Three
What sport did Nico Hülkenberg participate from 2007 to 2008?
Nico Hülkenberg Nicolas Hülkenberg ( , born 19 August 1987 ) is a German professional racing driver who currently serves as a reserve driver for the Aston Martin F1 Team . He drove in Formula One in and from to . In 2015 , he also contested two rounds of the 2015 FIA World Endurance Championship season for Porsche , winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans on his first attempt . He was the 2009 champion of the GP2 Series , and is a previous champion of both the Formula 3 Euro Series and A1 Grand Prix , as part of A1 Team Germany . He is one of 5 drivers since 2005 to win the Formula 2 ( formerly GP2 series ) championship in his debut season , the others being Lewis Hamilton , Nico Rosberg , Charles Leclerc , and George Russell . , Hülkenberg holds the record for the most Formula One career starts without a podium finish , a record he broke when he failed to finish in his 129th race ( the 2017 Singapore Grand Prix ) and in so doing passed Adrian Sutils previous record of 128 , Hülkenbergs record stands at . Hülkenberg raced in Formula One in with the Williams team . Despite claiming the first pole position for Williams in more than five years , he was not retained for and joined Force India as a test and reserve driver . He was promoted to a race seat with the team for the season , joining Paul di Resta . In he drove for the Sauber team , with Mexican driver Esteban Gutiérrez as his teammate . Hülkenberg returned to Force India for the season . In October 2016 , it was confirmed that he would switch to Renault for . He was replaced by Esteban Ocon for the 2020 Formula One season . He returned to Formula One in 2020 , driving for Racing Point in three races . Early life . Nico Hülkenberg was born in Emmerich am Rhein , North Rhine-Westphalia , West Germany to Klaus Dieter 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 fathers company . He is fluent in Dutch , German , French and English . Career . Early career . 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 was previously managed by Willi Weber , the long-time manager of Michael Schumacher . Weber predicted that Hülkenberg would be ready for Formula One by . 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 . Formula BMW ( 2005 ) . 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 . A1 Grand Prix ( 2006–2007 ) . 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 . Formula Three ( 2006–2008 ) . 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 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 . Hülkenberg amassed 76 of his total of 85 points during the feature races on Saturdays , taking seven wins in the progress . GP2 Series ( 2009 ) . Hülkenberg made his GP2 Asia Series début for the ART Grand Prix team at the third round of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series in Bahrain , where he took pole position at his first attempt . He finished both races in fourth place and this left him in seventh place in the championship . His second race weekend in Qatar , saw him become the first night race pole-sitter , and promptly turned that into becoming the first race-winner under lights after a dominant performance . Such was his performance that he ended up over thirteen seconds clear of second-placed driver Sergio Pérez . He finished third in the sprint race , taking his championship points tally to 27 from just four races . Despite this , he finished sixth in the championship . Hülkenberg continued with ART into the 2009 GP2 Series , partnering Pastor Maldonado , and took his first win in dominant fashion , during his home round of the series at the Nürburgring . With the series top eight inverted grid , Hülkenberg started eighth for the sprint race . He won the sprint race as well , becoming the first driver to do the weekend double since Giorgio Pantano at Monza in the 2006 season . In doing so , he became only the second driver to complete the clean sweep , with pole position , two fastest laps and two wins ; equalling the achievements of Nelson Piquet , Jr. , who achieved it at the Hungaroring , also in 2006 . Hülkenberg clinched the title with two races to spare , after a third-place finish in the Monza sprint race , shadowing Brazilians Luiz Razia and Lucas di Grassi home . The result left him with an unassailable 22-point lead heading to the final round , and in the process becoming the first driver to clinch the championship without the need for a final round decider . A fifth win followed at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve , allowing Hülkenberg to break the 100-point barrier , and eventually won the title by 25 points from Vitaly Petrov . Worthy of note is that Hülkenberg ended the season 64 points clear of his teammate Pastor Maldonado , who would later go on to get his Williams race seat for the 2011 Formula One season . Formula One . Hülkenberg first drove a Formula One car in a test for Williams in 2007 . His manager , Willi Weber , had organised the test after failing to conclude a deal with Renault boss Flavio Briatore . The two-day test was held at the Circuito de Jerez in Spain , and Hülkenberg outpaced Williamss driver Kazuki Nakajima , and set laptimes 0.4 seconds slower than Nico Rosberg . Hülkenbergs performance at the test led to the Williams team signing him as a test driver , and he competed in several test sessions in addition to racing in lower formulae . His test contract with Williams was extended for 2009 , despite in-season tests being banned from that season . Hülkenberg would also act as the teams reserve driver , in the event of the regular drivers being unable to compete . Williams ( 2010 ) . On 2 November 2009 , Hülkenberg was confirmed to race for Williams in . Hülkenbergs teammate for his first season would be the experienced driver Rubens Barrichello , who moved from Brawn GP which in turn was bought out by Mercedes-Benz . Hülkenberg made his debut at the , recovering from an early spin to finish in fourteenth position . At the second round in Australia , he was involved in a first-lap incident with Kamui Kobayashi , after the Japanese drivers front wing failed and sent him into the barrier , rebounding into the path of Hülkenberg . At the third round in Malaysia , Hülkenberg made it to Q3 for the first time , qualifying in fifth place ; out-qualifying teammate Barrichello for the first time . Hülkenberg looked set to finish eleventh in the race until Fernando Alonso blew his engine three laps from the end , thus promoting Hülkenberg to tenth place and with the new-for-2010 points system , Hülkenberg along with Jaime Alguersuari scored their first points in Formula One . He was tenth again at Silverstone , and at the he finished sixth , a career best . He also picked up points finishes in Italy , Singapore , and Korea . At the , Renault driver Vitaly Petrov misjudged a move at the start and cut across Hülkenbergs nose thus taking them both out of the race . Towards the end of the season there were reports that he could lose his seat at Williams to the GP2 Series champion Pastor Maldonado due to the money Maldonado could bring to the team . Force Indias Adrian Sutil was also linked to replace Hülkenberg at Williams . On 6 November Hülkenberg gained his first Formula One pole position , by 1.049 seconds over Sebastian Vettel at the in a rain-affected qualifying session . This was the Williams teams first pole position since the 2005 European Grand Prix . Hülkenberg completed a final lap after pole position was already secured , increasing his gap to the rest of the field . After losing the lead on the opening lap , he eventually finished the race in eighth place , having been passed by drivers in more competitive cars . After the , team boss Frank Williams confirmed that Hülkenberg would not be driving for the team in . Force India ( 2011-2012 ) . - 2011 On 26 January 2011 , Hülkenberg was confirmed as Force Indias reserve driver for the season , where he would drive for the team in the Friday practice sessions . He replaced Paul di Resta , who was promoted to a race position in the team . Hülkenberg competed in the first practice sessions of all the races apart from Monaco , Hungary , Korea , India and Abu Dhabi . - 2012 On 16 December 2011 , Force India announced di Resta and Hülkenberg would be their drivers for the 2012 season . Hülkenberg qualified ninth for the , six places ahead of di Resta , but his race ended on the first lap after picking up damage in a first-corner incident before retiring further round the course . He picked up his first points for Force India the following weekend , at the ; he finished in ninth place , having started the race in sixteenth . He again qualified sixteenth , for the . He achieved his best Formula One finish with a fourth place at the . He had been running 2nd in the race , when he was jumped by Kimi Räikkönen during the pit stops , before the faster Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel passed them both . Hülkenberg did not score any points in Italy or Singapore , but collected points at all of the next five , except on the Yas Marina Circuit where he was involved in a collision on the first lap , and subsequently retired . This was the first time he scored points in more than two races in a row . In the last race of the season , the 2012 Brazilian Grand Prix , Hülkenberg qualified 7th but was promoted to 6th after Pastor Maldonado received a 10 place grid penalty . By lap three he had moved forward two places and on lap five he passed Fernando Alonso for third place . He moved into second position when McLarens Lewis Hamilton pitted on lap 11 . Hülkenberg then passed Jenson Button at the start of lap 19 to take the lead . He and Button built up a 45-second lead before the safety car was deployed because of debris on the track . He still led until he was passed by Hamilton , after sliding at the entry of Turn 8 on lap 49 . On lap 55 he collided with Hamilton when the rear of Hülkenbergs car slid out while trying to pass him at Turn 1 . This ended Hamiltons last race for McLaren . After being given a drive-through penalty as a result of the incident , Hülkenberg finished fifth - letting his first race win and podium finish slip through his fingers . Nevertheless , this allowed him to take 11th place in the Drivers Championship from Kamui Kobayashi . Hülkenberg finished the year 17 points ahead of his teammate Paul di Resta and he out-qualified him 12 times , to di Restas eight . Sauber ( 2013 ) . On 31 October 2012 Sauber confirmed they had signed Hülkenberg for the 2013 season to replace Kamui Kobayashi . Hülkenberg failed to start the due to a leak in the fuel system of his Sauber C32 ; he had qualified eleventh for the race , but was withdrawn for safety reasons . At the , Hülkenberg qualified in twelfth , but finished the race in eighth place . Hülkenberg put in his best qualifying performance of the season to date at the Italian Grand Prix to put himself 3rd on the grid . After losing two places to the Ferraris of Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso , he managed to keep 5th place even though harried by the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg towards the end of the race . By finishing in fifth place , he overtook Toro Rosso driver Jean-Éric Vergne in the Drivers Championship . His best finish was at the Korean Grand Prix where he finished 4th after close battle with Hamilton and Alonso , in which he showed impressive defending skills and made no mistakes , in a battle where he overtook Hamilton more than once . Return to Force India ( 2014–2016 ) . - 2014 On 3 December 2013 , Force India confirmed they had signed Hülkenberg for 2014 to race alongside Sergio Pérez . In the first round , Hülkenberg finished the in seventh place – his first finish in Melbourne – but was promoted to sixth after the disqualification of second-placed Daniel Ricciardo . He later finished fifth at the , spending a large amount of time in fourth place , holding off Ferraris Fernando Alonso before being overtaken . Another fifth place at Bahrain put Hülkenberg in third place of the drivers standings , behind the two Mercedes drivers , Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg . At the Hülkenberg took sixth place , taking eight points . He fell to fourth place in the Drivers Championship after Fernando Alonso finished in third place . Force India lost second in the Constructors Championship to Red Bull Racing . Consistent point scoring runs throughout the season meant that Hülkenberg finished the season in 9th place in the Drivers Championship with 96 points , a career best , compared to his teammates 59 points and helped Force India achieve sixth place in the Constructors Championship , following the improvements of Williams and McLaren throughout the season . His best result of the season was fifth place , which he achieved four times . In October 2014 , Force India confirmed they had re-signed Hülkenberg for 2015 . - 2015 In the opening round in Australia , he finished seventh , a lap down . However , he would not score again , in an uncompetitive Force India , until Canada . In Hungary , mid-race , he suffered a big crash at turn one when his front wing detached and he drove over it , sending him slightly airborne and into the barriers , costing him a potential fourth place . He then failed to finish five of the next seven races . In Belgium , he had a power unit failure on the way to the grid , while in Singapore , he was tagged by Felipe Massa at turn three and spun into the barriers , and received a three place grid penalty after being deemed responsible . In Russia he spun at turn two at the start and collected Marcus Ericsson , potentially costing him a podium finish , and in the United States he slid into Daniel Ricciardo and broke his front right suspension . He finished the season 10th with 58 points , 20 points behind his teammate , and helped Force India to secure fifth place in the Constructors Championship and his best result of the season was sixth , which he achieved three times . - 2016 Hülkenberg again raced for Force India in 2016 alongside Sergio Pérez . In the opening round in Australia , he finished seventh . He would finish the next two races in 15th position with the Force India being uncompetitive . In Russia , he was hit by his former teammate Esteban Gutiérrez and retired from the race . He would also retire from the next race with an oil leak . A podium , once again , escaped Hülkenbergs grasp in Monaco . He qualified fifth and was set to finish on the podium , when he got stuck in traffic following his pit stop and his teammate jumped him for the final podium place . He eventually finished sixth , passing the eventual World Champion Nico Rosberg , who had struggled throughout the race , just before the finish line on the last lap . This was followed by points finishes at the next two races . He spun in qualifying during the 2016 European Grand Prix held at Baku , when the Force India was very competitive . This caused him to qualify 13th and finish 9th while Pérez qualified 2nd ( demoted to seventh after a grid penalty ) and finished third . At the following race in Austria , he put in another strong qualifying performance to qualify third , which became second when Nico Rosberg served his five-place grid penalty . However , he had a poor start , and was overtaken by quicker cars as the race went on , until his brakes failed and he had to retire . This was followed by five consecutive points finishes , including fourth at the 2016 Belgian Grand Prix , his best result of the season , when he was initially running second after the first lap but was eventually passed by the faster cars of Daniel Ricciardo and Lewis Hamilton . At the following race in Singapore , he was involved in a first lap collision , where he was squeezed between two drivers , and had to retire from the race . Hülkenberg finished eighth at the next two races . Having announced his decision to move to Renault for the 2017 season before the 2016 United States Grand Prix , Hülkenberg put on some rejuvenated performances . He qualified seventh in the USA , before retiring after being squeezed in between Valtteri Bottas and Sebastian Vettel . He then qualified fifth in Mexico , ahead of the Ferraris and finished seventh . He outqualified his teammate again in Brazil and was running fourth , but he picked up a puncture from debris on the track , following Kimi Räikkönens crash , costing him a podium finish , and fell outside the points before recovering to seventh , fending off Daniel Ricciardo towards the end of the race . He capped off his season in Abu Dhabi by outqualifying Pérez again to seventh place and finishing in the same position , having survived a collision with Max Verstappen on the first lap . Hülkenberg scored 72 points in the season , finishing ninth in the Drivers Championship and helping Force India finish the Constructors Championship in fourth . Renault ( 2017–2019 ) . - 2017 On 14 October 2016 , Renault Sport announced that Hülkenberg had signed a multiyear agreement to race with the Renault Sport Formula One team . - 2018 For the 2018 season , Hülkenberg remained at Renault , alongside Carlos Sainz , who was competing in his first full season for the Renault F1 team . - 2019 For the 2019 season , Nico Hülkenberg was joined at Renault by multiple Grand Prix winner Daniel Ricciardo , who was signed from Red Bull . Hülkenberg , yet to score a podium in 158 races by the beginning of the 2019 season , said his future in the sport depends on the outcome of the duel as his ability could be measured against a Grand Prix winner , for the first time since his rookie season in 2010 , when he was teammate to Rubens Barrichello at Williams . Meanwhile , Renault managing director , Cyril Abiteboul , believed that the driver pairing was one of the strongest - if not the strongest - driver line-up on the grid . Racing Point ( 2020 ) . Hülkenberg did not have a contract for the 2020 F1 season . He replaced Sergio Pérez at Racing Point for the British Grand Prix and 70th Anniversary Grand Prix after Pérez tested positive for SARS-2 coronavirus . For the British Grand Prix he qualified thirteenth but did not start the race due to an engine failure before the start of the race . Hülkenberg would get another chance to race for the team at the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix also at Silverstone Circuit after Pérez tested positive for COVID-19 again . He qualified in third behind the two Mercedes cars and although was on course to finish in 4th , Hülkenberg unexpectedly had high levels of tyre wear , which forced him to pit again . He then went on to finish seventh behind teammate Lance Stroll . Hülkenberg did not race at the Spanish Grand Prix as Sergio Pérez returned to racing after testing negative for COVID-19 . He would replace the teams other driver , Lance Stroll , for the Eifel Grand Prix after the Canadian had sat out final practice due to feeling unwell . He finished the race in 8th after qualifying 20th , and last , on the grid , winning him the fans vote of Driver of the Day . Aston Martin ( 2021 ) . Aston Martin F1 Team ( previously Racing Point ) signed Hülkenberg as a reserve and development driver for the season . Sportscars . It was confirmed in November 2014 that Hülkenberg would compete in the 2015 24 Hours of Le Mans in a third factory-backed Porsche 919 Hybrid . He also contested the Spa-Francorchamps round of the World Endurance Championship as preparation . On 14 June 2015 , he won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race , driving alongside Britains Nick Tandy and Earl Bamber of New Zealand . They completed 395 laps , one lap ahead of the car of their Porsche teammates Mark Webber , Brendon Hartley and Timo Bernhard , who took second place . This win was Porsches first overall victory in the event since the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans . Hülkenbergs triumph made him the first active Formula One driver to win at Le Mans since Johnny Herbert and Bertrand Gachot , who performed the same feat in 1991 . Racing record . Single seater racing results . Complete Formula One results . <nowiki>*</nowiki> Season still in progress. Driver failed to finish the race , but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance .