Science: Nico Hülkenberg ranks among the top five in F1

      Nico Hülkenberg made his Formula 1 debut in 2010 and by that time had achieved considerable success in junior series. In 2005, he won the German Formula BMW title; in 2007, he became A1GP champion; the following year, he won the European F3 Series; and in 2009, he added a GP2 (now Formula 2) title to his achievements.

      But he was unable to replicate those early successes in Formula 1, partly because he drove some of the slowest cars, partly due to his own mistakes, and sometimes he fell victim to incidents for which he was not at fault.

      Last weekend, Nico finally had some good luck: he achieved a podium finish at Silverstone, and the British Grand Prix was already his 239th Formula 1 race.

      Carlos Sainz is one of those who genuinely rejoices for Nico Hülkenberg, as in 2017 and 2018, they were teammates at Renault F1.

      "Year after year, people kept talking about some kind of curse on Nico, and spreading nonsense that he would never reach the podium," said the Spanish Williams driver. "But personally, I’ve never cared about the lack of podiums in his record. Because I’ve long believed that Nico is among the top five drivers in the championship.

      He’s an excellent, very talented driver, and anyone who pays close attention to how he works on the track can see that he masters the art of racing just brilliantly. And I’m very happy for him!"