Nico Hulkenberg said his first podium in Formula One had been "a long time coming" after a stunning drive at the British Grand Prix on a weekend he described as an "emotional rollercoaster". 

Hulkenberg, who started 19th on the grid, rose through the field in treacherous conditions at Silverstone to take third behind McLaren duo Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri. 

The 37-year-old claimed his maiden podium in the competition at the 239th attempt, a result that lifted Sauber up to sixth in the constructors' standings, despite seeing Gabriel Bortoleto crash out in the early stages of the race.

It was the longest such streak in F1, with that unwanted record now held by Adrian Sutil (128), who could be overtaken by Red Bull's Yuki Tsunoda (99, in fourth position).

Hulkenberg became the 218th different driver to finish on the podium in the history of the competition. It was also Sauber's first time in the top three since 2012, when Kamuy Kobayashi also finished third at the Japanese Grand Prix. 

He also became the 14th German driver to seal a podium in F1, and the first since four-time world champion Sebastian Vettel did so in Azerbaijan in 2021 with Aston Martin. 

"It's been an emotional rollercoaster this weekend, being virtually last [on Saturday], so a pretty bad day to one of the best days of my career - it's obviously a lot to take in," said Hulkenberg.

"It has been a long time coming, hasn't it? I always knew we have it in us, I have it in me somewhere. 

"What a race, coming from virtually last, doing it all over again from last weekend. It's pretty surreal to be honest.

"Not sure how it all happened, but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race.

"I think we were just on it, the right calls, the right tyres, the right moment, made no mistakes and, yeah, quite incredible."

A FIRST EVER PODIUM FOR THE HULK

P19 to P3, a mighty drive for Nico at the #BritishGP pic.twitter.com/dlJp0gqLew

— Stake F1 Team KICK Sauber (@stakef1team_ks) July 6, 2025

Hulkenberg's drive was made even more impressive given the wet conditions on the track, with rain stopping and starting for much of the 12th race of the season. 

Franco Colapinto, Liam Lawson, Bortoleto, Isack Hadjar and Kimi Antonelli all fell victim to the weather, but Hulkenberg thrived in the conditions where others struggled. 

In total, he gained 16 positions, his best race performance in that metric. The last time someone made up that many places was Charles Leclerc in Abu Dhabi 2024. 

"Today, I was in denial until, like, probably the last pit stop, then we gapped Lewis quite a bit with the extra lap," Hulkenberg recalled. 

"I was like 'OK, this is good, gives some breathing space' but you know he was catching quite quickly. The pressure was there, it was an intense race. We didn't crack.

"No mistakes and obviously really happy with that. I was thinking that he was 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. I'm super happy. Thank you for the great energy and support here, every year."