Like Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown, Nico Hülkenberg seemed fated to never step foot on a podium at the end of an F1 race. Against all odds, the 37-year-old driver finally secured his maiden top-three finish during Sunday’s British Grand Prix and collected a Lego trophy. It was a tumultuous 239-race wait that saw Hülkenberg fired twice since his 2010 rookie season and passed over for factory seats at Mercedes and Ferrari. Despite that, his long-awaited triumph was celebrated by every team in the paddock.
In stereotypical fashion, the British weather threw a wrench into Sunday’s race at Silverstone. Unpredictable conditions had teams gambling on slick tires in wet conditions and drivers losing control on the slippery track surface. It was a perfect recipe for Hülkenberg and his subpar Sauber to shine. The point came on the ninth lap when the Swiss team bolted on a second set of intermediate tires to the car while others were hoping for the showers to clear. When the rain returned and produced near monsoon conditions, Hülkenberg was catapulted up to fourth place as the frontrunners pitted.
Hülkenberg wasn’t handed the spot on the podium. The German driver had to get around Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll while fleeing a hard-charging Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion typically finds extra pace in his home race regardless of the machinery he’s driving. Hülkenberg’s late race speed was stunning as he set the fastest lap while keeping Hamilton at bay. The Sauber eventually crossed the finish line five seconds ahead of the Ferrari.
Sauber needed a podium just as much as Hülkenberg
The celebrations were immediate and universal, with the Sauber garage erupting in a roar of ecstasy. In the pit lane, Max Verstappen joined in as he drove past Hülkenberg despite having a disappointing day of his own, spinning out during a restart and finishing fifth. Race winner Lando Norris graciously brought Hülkenberg’s helmet to the cool-down room because the German driver wasn’t familiar with the protocol for the top three finishers. Sauber also didn’t have any champagne on hand to celebrate, so the other teams donated their own caches for the occasion.
It was a much-needed celebration for Sauber. It’s the team’s first podium finish since 2012. While the Swiss team is slated to be Audi’s factory team next year, the team’s struggles in recent years have been apparent on and off track. Sauber finished dead last in the constructors’ championship last year. The team also signed a title sponsor deal with a sketchy online casino that used explicit sexual content to advertise its product to young people. Not a great sign of the team’s financial health.
Formula 1 is often maligned for its dominant champions and race-to-race predictability. However, it allows simmering narratives to unfold over the span of years. As much as F1’s stakeholders want to be a never-ending circus with a cavalcade of teenage stars, it could never manufacture the same thrilling moments on a weekly basis. It takes decades of heartache to make the triumphs that much sweeter. Sports are a road trip, not a commute.
