After Many Stops And Starts, Nico Hulkenberg Is Ready To Race Into Action… And Win

Photo Credit: Deine Photography

BY LAURA SCHREFFLER

PHOTOGRAPHY DEINE PHOTOGRAPHY

GROOMING LINA DAHLBECK

SHOT ON LOCATION AT THE DUBAI EDITION

*This interview was done in March. 

Nico Hulkenberg has a quirk — and contrary to his German heritage, it is not an all-consuming love of David Hasselhoff. [Though the same can’t be said for 80s German pop band Modern Talking, which he’s totally out and proud about.]

“I’m a bit of a tidy freak,” the 36-year-old Formula One driver admits from his room at The Dubai EDITION, where he’s posted up in between the Bahrain and Saudi Arabian Grands Prix — the first and second races of the F1 season — in March, recharging his batteries. “I like things clean. I often grab the Dyson at home and clean up as I go. I don’t like a mess.”

Hulkenberg even confesses that he’s the kind of guy who “might” feel compelled to fix an uneven bedsheet corner (read between the lines here: “might” meaning “definitely does”), but stresses that he is “not as bad as David Beckham. I watched his series, and I’m not as crazy as him!”

But he does admit that when it comes to his car, he does have Beckham-like tendencies. “I really hate having my car dirty. I feel dirty when my car is dirty,” he shudders.

Which is fair, right? His profession does involve spending copious amounts of time rolling around on four wheels, after all. Anyhow, maybe Hulkenberg isn’t as extra as Becks, who creeps around his house late at night after his family is down for the count, trimming down candlewicks and spraying streaky windows into submission, but it’s not hard to identify a common thread here: both are athletes, and both are driven to succeed.

Incidentally, this is also the name of the Netflix series that pushed F1 into the spotlight, transforming its drivers into superstars. Hulkenberg — a.k.a. “The Hulk” (due solely to his last name, he explains, lest anyone think he transforms into a mean, green cleaning machine at night) — then with Renault, featured prominently in the series’ second season, which documented how the arrival of Daniel Ricciardo — now with Racing Bulls — eventually brought upon Hulkenberg’s replacement by Esteban Ocon.
Although his frustration at having no wins or podium placements throughout his career was the focus of his personal narrative, Hulkenberg feels that Drive to Survive was a positive thing for F1 in general. “[The series] put F1 on the map for a lot of people, especially in North America, but also globally. It’s recognized around the world by a lot more people, and it’s made the drivers a lot more popular. It’s done a lot for everyone on the commercial side, putting us on a bigger and more attractive stage. I definitely feel that as one of the drivers, I’m approached all the time. Usually, it’s along the lines of, ‘You’re a great driver, I like you.’ People don’t come up and say, ‘Hey, you’re shit,’” he says with a gruff laugh.

Regardless, after failing to meet his performance clause with Renault in 2020, Hulkenberg was released from the team, which was enough to make the German driver rethink his life choices. Ultimately, he decided to hang up his helmet and retire from Formula One. “Until 2019, I had already raced in F1 for 10 years, and to compete on the highest level with more than 20 race weekends per year can be very tiring. There is a lot of pressure and no room for mistakes. [And so], in 2019, something changed when my former team decided not to renew my contract. It was the first time I had ever thought about a break, but I finally decided to step away from the sport,” he explains, noting that the decision was beneficial, and one he would make again. “Overall, it was a good decision. I created some space for the private Nico. I spent as much time as I could with family and friends, as well as my girlfriend [Egle Ruskyte]; I married her and later became a dad [to now two-year-old daughter Noemi Sky].”

Photo Credit: Deine Photography

But his need to compete outweighed his frustration with the sport. He could not stay out of the cockpit for long, and opted to align with Racing Point (previously known as Force India), and then, in 2021, Aston Martin as the team’s reserve driver; he was dubbed the “super-sub” in 2022 after taking the place of Sebastian Vettel, who had tested positive for Covid, for the opening two races of the season. But it was only in 2023 that he made his full-time, leading man return for his 10th campaign, joining MoneyGram Haas, the only American team competing in Formula One.

“Racing was always part of my thoughts,” Hulkenberg admits now. “I started to miss the competition and the adrenaline. The hunger got bigger and bigger after three years without a full-time drive, [which is why] I tried everything to come back to F1 again. Luckily, it worked out, and now I feel more balanced and more ready than ever before.”

His optimism is especially needed now given that his comeback year was a tough one. At the end of the season, which saw him partnering with Kevin Magnussen — replacing fellow German compatriot Mick Schumacher — the team struggled with tire wear, and Hulkenberg finished 16th in the championship with nine points. Still, he impressively qualified in the top 10 11 times (three times in sprint qualifying and eight times in normal qualifying), despite being out of the game for three seasons.

“Last year was challenging — a very difficult year, sporting-wise — and we want to bounce back and recover from that,” he confesses, continuing, “At the start of every season, the team has a target goal. Last year, that was to come in sixth or seventh. The year started OK, but then, as it went on, we didn’t manage to improve our performance; we actually slipped back in the order. By the end of the season, we weren’t very competitive at all, which resulted in no good point finishes, and put us on the back foot. It wasn’t great, obviously, but it’s a sport, and these things can happen… even though nobody wants them to.”

Photo Credit: Deine Photography

But things seem to be looking up. Though Hulkenberg still holds the record for the most Formula One career starts without a podium finish, as he enters his second year with the team, something seems to have shifted. After our chat, he excelled in Jeddah, banking his first points finish in a Grand Prix since the 2023 Australian Grand Prix — effectively climbing into the top 10 spot.

“This year, there’s been a bit of a change,” he shares. “The team principal has changed; [Guenther Steiner] is not with the team anymore. There’s been some reshuffling. It always felt like we were going backward, but we focused a lot over the winter to address that.”

One might even say he’s pumping the brakes on pressure; he plans on letting things ride and doing his very best to place, despite certain limitations (such as the team’s VF-24 car and continual tire degradation issues, carried over from 2023, that he feels have prevented he and his teammate from placing and have truly impeded their need for speed).

That said, he’s hopeful for the future. “Things seem to be in a better and healthier place now, but really, it’s still early days.”

Photo Credit: Deine Photography

ALTHOUGH HIS CAREER HAS HAD MANY STARTS AND STOPS, Nico Hulkenberg wouldn’t trade it for anything: he’s literally living his dream. He was just a tow-headed seven-year-old kid, growing up in the Rhine region of West Germany, when he decided that he wanted to be a racecar driver when he grew up. Now, almost 30 years later, he’s one of the rare few who not only achieved his childhood fantasy but is still happily living it every day.

This fact is not lost on him. The stoic, slightly sardonic German credits this in part to perseverance, and in part to that all-consuming love he never lost for the sport, and he does not mince words in sharing it. “I have a passion for it, and I love what I do. Plus, I’m pretty good at it. In our sport, obviously, you have the stopwatch and the lap times, and they never lie. If you are faster than anybody else, and you beat anybody else, it means you’re good and you can’t hide it. That’s what makes racing so special. F1 is such a rush, such a thrill. Being at the start of a Grand Prix, fighting the other 19 best drivers in the world, wheel to wheel. There’s nothing like it.”

Which is why, of course, it’s a dream come true. But this dream didn’t just become reality overnight: Hulkenberg put the work in, and slowly but surely forged his path to Formula One. After establishing that this was to be his chosen path, he turned to go-karting, winning the German Junior Kart Championship at the age of 15 in 2002. A year later, he would go on to win the German Kart Championship.

He made the leap to open-wheel racing soon after, winning the 2005 Formula BMW ADAC during his debut. The following winter, he joined A1 Team Germany for the A1 Grand Prix Championship, otherwise known as “The World Cup of Motorsport.” A return to Formula 3 briefly ensued before he joined Williams as their test driver; he became a full-time Formula 1 driver for said team in 2010 for one season only, moving on to Force India first as a reserve driver in 2011, and then full-time the following year. This was followed by a one-year move to Sauber in 2013 before he rejoined Force India to drive alongside Sergio “Checo” Pérez from 2014 to 2016. In the midst of this timeframe, he made history by becoming the first active Formula 1 driver to win the historic Le Mans 24 Hours in 24 years. This was a strong year overall: his campaign featured three top-six place finishes in Austria, Japan, and Brazil.

And then came the Netflix-documented Renault years, following the team’s first season back in the sport. The partnership would last for three seasons, where Hulkenberg partnered with drivers including Ricciardo, Jolyon Palmer, and Carlos Sainz. He finished 10th in the World Drivers’ Championship in his first year (2017), following multiple Q3 appearances and a trio of sixth-place finishes. In 2018, he would accumulate enough points to finish a career-best seventh place in the standings and secure the fifth place at Monaco, his home grand prix.

And then there were those aforementioned road bump-riddled ensuing years, years that have led him to his current place in the F1 hierarchy: a current world ranking of number 11. His goal is to break the top 10, of course, but drive to the best of his abilities. Hulkenberg wants to win.

To do so means staying focused, not partying, gallivanting, or getting rowdy around the world with his fellow drivers and friends such as Pérez, Ricciardo, Sainz, and Max Verstappen… regardless of how tantalizing the lure of the F1 lifestyle can be. He has no desire to play tourist or to mess around… plus he’s a new dad, and there’s sleepless nights enough without adding rabble-rousing into the mix. “For me, over the last 15 years, it’s been a lot of the same thing. So, eventually, you get to know the place, and you do less of the cultural and sightseeing things; it becomes normal. Also, when we go to a race, it’s work. And for my part, I arrive there with the mindset to come and work, not going there to play.”

Photo Credit: Deine Photography

That said, he does love specific cities… for their circuits. He cites Montreal, Austin, Sao Paolo, the U.K.’s Silverstone, and Monaco among his favorites. As for Miami, that’s up there, too.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a priority circuit for me — it’s new to the F1 calendar — but the first two were cool and successful. It’s a stunning venue, and I love how they implement it in and around Hard Rock Stadium. Most of the drivers really like it; it’s got a good flow to it, and it’s challenging.”

He’s equally all for the Magic City itself. “I’ve been to South Beach, downtown, everywhere all around. I’m a big fan of Miami — the vibe, the energy, the feel. It’s just a massively fun place.”

At this stage in his life, though, Hulkenberg is more focused on family than fun. For that, there’s truly no place like home — home being the principality of Monaco, where he spends most of the off-season enjoying his luxury watch and car collections, the former being his “secret passion and weak spot,” and the latter including wheels from Pagani, Bugatti, and Koenigsegg. [His grandfather and father owned a family legacy transport truck company back in Germany. He says, “I’ve always been a petrol head; I grew up surrounded by vehicles — trucks, forklifts, cars, and more — and then, when I discovered motorsport, sports cars were not far around the corner.”]

He says, “My wife and I have a young daughter, so naturally we’re a bit more at home now because that is a different dynamic and it changed our lives. Last year, especially at the end, there was a lot of traveling, so now we enjoy just being at home, not being at an airport or on a plane, and hanging out with friends doing normal, casual stuff. I really used [the off-season] as an opportunity to relax, disconnect, and refresh. Then it’s ‘Here we go again, you’re back at full capacity, fully focused and motivated.’ But until then, because there’s no driving, it’s chilly billy for us.”

In general, Hulk (unlike his namesake) seems chill, but no-nonsense, no BS — a total straight shooter. He sees himself this way, but also “competitive, passionate, and someone who doesn’t take himself too seriously. I’m pretty good at cracking jokes, especially about myself. I’m someone who enjoys life.”

And for the orderly, efficient German, a man who notably does not mince words, that means he enjoys all facets of his life — especially his work. “I love what I do; it doesn’t feel like work,” he declares. “It’s what I’ve been passionate about all my life, what I’ve wanted to do, and who I’ve wanted to be since I was a little kid. I’m very happy and fortunate that I’m still carrying that out and following my passion. It’s a great luxury to be able to do what you want, how you want, to have a certain independence. But pure happiness is just a feeling: true happiness is having a work-life balance. I have that — I have a great family, a great wife, a beautiful young daughter. I have a pretty privileged life. It’s going well at the moment, but you have to work to maintain it and to keep it.”

And work he will. Though it’s his focus, it’s not his only priority. He says, “This year, my personal goals are to have fun, to make the most of it, and to just enjoy the ride.”  

Photo Credit: Deine Photography