Hulkenberg shakes off F1's longest unwanted record with podium finish at Silverstone / Photo: Andrej ISAKOVIC - AFP
Hulkenberg shakes off F1's longest unwanted record with podium finish at Silverstone
Nico Hulkenberg ended his hold on Formula One's longest unwanted record on Sunday when he finished third for Sauber at the British Grand Prix in his 239th top-tier race.
Aged 37, and in the 16th season of a career that has seen him race for eight different teams, the highly-popular German sparked widespread celebrations with his unexpected success in a race dominated by McLaren.
Lando Norris claimed his maiden home race victory ahead of championship-leading team-mate Oscar Piastri, thanks in part to a mid-race 10-second penalty handed to the Australian.
Second-placed Norris is now only eight points behind Piastri in the title race.
While there were resounding cheers for McLaren, there was joy for 'Hulk', who apologised for wrecking home hopes of seeing seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton extend his run of 12 consecutive Silverstone podiums.
Hamilton finished fourth behind him, and remains without a podium finish since joining Ferrari this year.
"It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?" said Hulkenberg.
"It's surreal and I was in denial until like probably the last pit stop and then we gapped Lewis quite a bit, with the extra lap.
"I was like 'ok, this is good, it gives some breathing space', but he was catching me quite quickly."
But Hulkenberg held his nerve to come in third.
"The pressure was there," he said. "It was such an intense race, but we didn't crack. No mistakes at all and obviously I'm really happy with that.
"Of course, I was thinking that he's going to give it all in front of his home crowd and I was like 'sorry guys, but it's also my day!'
"I had to stick my neck out and I'm super happy."
Turning to the 168,000-capacity Sunday crowd -- part of a four-day attendance of half-a-million -- Hulkenberg said: "Thank you for the great energy and support here, every year."
Y.Krause--FFMTZ
