Trailing the footsteps of most aspiring race-car drivers, Nicolas ‘Nico’ Hülkenberg chose the kart-racing arena as a springboard to usher in his professional driving career. Hülkenberg swiftly stamped his authority on the competition in his local country, Germany, after beginning his career at the age of just ten. In 2002, he was crowned the German Junior Karting victor, and it took only one more year for Hülkenberg to climb up the competitive ladder and add to his trophy cabinet the German Kart Championship, paralleling the accomplishment of his fellow countryman, Michael Schumacher, who had won that very title more than a decade ago.
Hülkenberg’s success won him the attention of Michael Schumacher’s renowned manager Willi Weber, who swiftly added the youth from Emmerich to the payroll. Under the mentorship of Weber, Hülkenberg managed to win the Italian Junior championship by 2004, and his patron felt it was high time for the German to make a transition to single-seater racing. The opportunity came knocking in 2005 at the German Formula BMW series, where the 18 year old Hülkenberg would finally make his initiation into the world of single-seaters. Driving for Josef Kaufmann, the German made an instant impression after recording eight wins out of twenty starts to seal a decisive victory at the championship. This triumph also saw Hülkenberg emulate the feats of fellow countrymen, Sebastian Vettel, who had grabbed the title a year earlier, and Nico Rosberg, who was the 2002 German Formula BMW series winner.
The following year, Hülkenberg switched to A1GP to contest for Team Germany in a move that would prove to be a masterstroke. The German established his authority on the competition in style, after securing nine crucial wins before ultimately handing the title to the German team in what may be rightfully labelled as a one-man feat. Hülkenberg yet maintains the record of being the most triumphant driver in the championship’s history over the span of one season.
Hülkenberg continued his exploits in the German Formula Three series throughout the 2006 season, recording one victory and five podium standings. In 2007, the German made a transition to the highly challenging Formula Three Euroseries, where he would find himself pitted against many Formula One hopefuls, including the likes of Kamui Kobayashi, Sebastien Buemi and Romain Grosjean. Here, Hülkenberg distinguished himself with four victories and 72 points before ending up third in the rankings. At the Formula Masters competition at Zolder the same year, a fired-up Hülkenberg clinched victory by a margin of six seconds and in the process brought himself to the notice of Frank Williams, who offered the German a test drive in December 2007. Hülkenberg made the most of this opportunity and put on a dazzling display which compelled the Williams boss to immediately enlist him onto the payroll as a test driver, describing his performance as “quick and capable”.
Apart from his role as a Williams’ test driver, Hülkenberg also strove to keep his competitive driving abilities up to the mark by participating in the 2008 F3 Euroseries. The German’s determination would pay dividends, and he managed to win the Euroseries championship in fitting style, having notched up an impressive 85 points and seven victories at the tender age of just 21.
However, Hülkenberg’s laudable year 2008 performances proved insignificant in convincing Williams to give him a place as a first choice driver the following year. The German would continue to fill an important role as a test and substitute driver for the British squad in addition to winning the 2009 GP2 Asia Series. He also enlisted himself to contest the primary GP2 series and triumphed at Nurburgring before sealing the championship win. Yet all this time, Hülkenberg’s overriding concern was to realize his Formula One ambitions, and the aspiring champion soon got his wish, when in November 2009, Williams decided to pair him with Brazilian Rubens Barrichello as a first choice race driver for the 2010 season.
Works Cited: "Nico Hülkenberg - Formula 1™ - The Official F1™ Website." Formula 1-The Official F1 Website.
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