MPH: Hülkenberg mutiny earned podium, but it began with 1 lap in 2020

Nico Hülkenberg‘s first podium last Sunday, at the 239th time of asking, in his 16th year of F1, was testimony to the power of persistence.

It was a great drive from the last row of the grid in the sort of mixed conditions which have always allowed him to shine, but it was the product also of Hulk’s commanding calls from the cockpit, using his vast experience to overrule the Sauber team at times. The two stops – from inters to new inters and then from those to slicks – were perfectly timed.

The team had been urging him to stop in the early laps – like Russell, Leclerc and others – but he refused, pointing out that the last two corners were still too wet. Subsequently, they were telling him to stay out, and he insisted he was coming in. It’s rare to see such mutiny in modern F1, but the calls were calm and assured – and the team just fell in with him and enjoyed the ride.

Six years ago, at Hockenheim, he’d been having a similar race in the wet for Renault. He’d made all the right calls at the right time on a day it was so easy to get them wrong. He’d glided up to fourth place as Max Verstappen led the race from Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton, but with the latter taking a 5sec penalty. Hulk looked to be heading for a podium at last. It had been a ridiculously long time coming for someone of his obvious ability.

This was nine years after his debut with Williams, the team with which he’d gone on to score a sensational rookie pole on a damp Interlagos, over 1sec clear of anyone else. It was seven years after he was in his Force India and Jenson Button had been 45sec clear of the field, again on a rainy Brazil day, a gap that was wiped out by a safety car. He was later attempting to take the lead from Hamilton when he got out of shape and hit him, destroying both their races. There were so many starring cameos along the way, but it never led to a drive in a top team (though he came super-close with Ferrari at one point).

He was forever being leapfrogged by younger talent with more career momentum, and he began to be seen just as a safe pair of hands, with the potential to over-deliver if it rained. He’d finally got the factory drive with Renault in 2017. It was a team still rebuilding, but he was leading it – until it recruited Daniel Ricciardo alongside him for 2019, just as Hulk was in the final year of his contract. Pre-season, I asked if he thought he’d extend that contract. “I guess there won’t be much to discuss if Daniel comes in here and blows me away,” he replied. “Let’s see.”

That’s what happened. Daniel made the team his own and flat-out outperformed Hulk. But now, at Hockenheim, with team boss Cyril Abiteboul vacillating about whether to re-sign him or take on the promising young Esteban Ocon, Hülkenberg looked on the verge of something exceptional. Except…

He got onto the disastrously slippery run-off area between the final two turns and was a passenger as the car slid hard into the barriers. He knew exactly the magnitude of his error and was disconsolate. On the pitwall, Abiteboul sat with his head in his hands and afterwards said he thought there was “something psychological” about why Nico couldn’t convert great performances into results. He’d clearly made up his mind.

“It’s gone,” said a resigned Hülkenberg at the end of the season. “I’ve done 10 years of F1 and have enjoyed it. But it’s gone.” Except…