Max Verstappen sends ‘amazing’ message to Nico Hulkenberg after securing his first F1 podium at the British Grand Prix

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Lando Norris won the British Grand Prix for McLaren, but Sauber star Nico Hulkenberg was arguably the hero of Sunday’s race.

Nico Hulkenberg would have gone into the British Grand Prix wondering if points were on the cards.

The Sauber driver entered his 239th Formula 1 race starting on the back row of the grid after a disappointing Q1 exit.

He was beaten in qualifying by rookie teammate Gabriel Bortoleto, and after just breaking into the top 10 in the drivers’ championship, it appeared as though he was likely to give up that position.

What followed was one of the most extraordinary performances in Hulkenberg’s racing career.

Sauber nailed his strategy, and during the chaos of the opening laps where drivers were crashing and constantly switching tyres, Hulkenberg and Lance Stroll rose to the front of the grid.

The pair were getting ready to battle for fourth and fifth when Max Verstappen spun out behind the safety car, and suddenly Stroll was promoted to third and Hulkenberg could see his first Formula 1 podium in his sights…

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Max Verstappen says Nico Hulkenberg was the only ‘positive’ from the British Grand Prix

Verstappen slipped down to 11th at one point in the race but recovered well to finish fifth.

It means he falls further behind Norris and Oscar Piastri in the drivers’ championship, and Verstappen had to deal with a ‘killer’ Red Bull problem throughout the race.

However, this all helped Hulkenberg, who eventually found his way past Stroll, who put up very little defence against the oncoming Lewis Hamilton.

When teams were deciding when to switch onto the slick tyres in the closing stages, Hulkenberg stayed out for an extra lap compared to the seven-time world champion.

It was the perfect call, as it gave him the necessary buffer to cross the line as the best of the rest behind the two McLarens.

Speaking to Viaplay after the race in the media pen, Verstappen was asked about Hulkenberg’s achievement.

He said: “Yeah, amazing! That’s the positive thing of the day! I am so happy for him that he got the podium, yeah, so nice to see.”

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Hulkenberg made his Formula 1 debut in 2010 and should have finished on the podium before this year’s race at Silverstone.

He started from pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix during his rookie campaign, but a collision with Hamilton ended those hopes.

Since then, Hulkenberg has raced for Williams, Force India, Renault, Aston Martin and Haas before starting his second spell with Sauber this season.

Ralf Schumacher believes Hulkenberg would be Verstappen’s perfect Red Bull teammate, and while Audi are unlikely to want their veteran driver to leave any time soon when they take over the team in 2026, Yuki Tsunoda’s seat is under serious pressure.

Hulkenberg and Verstappen are close friends, and he’ll be delighted that the German has finally ended his podium drought.

It’s been suggested in the past that Hulkenberg and Verstappen would be perfect Le Mans teammates, which would be something plenty of F1 fans could get behind.