{"id":35824,"date":"2025-07-11T05:07:39","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:07:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/?p=35824"},"modified":"2025-07-11T05:07:39","modified_gmt":"2025-07-11T09:07:39","slug":"carlos-sainz-hulkenberg-was-always-top-five-driver-in-f1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/2025\/07\/11\/carlos-sainz-hulkenberg-was-always-top-five-driver-in-f1\/","title":{"rendered":"Carlos Sainz: Hulkenberg Was Always “Top-Five Driver” in F1"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nico Hulkenberg<\/a> ended his seemingly eternal wait for a podium with a brilliant drive to finish 3rd at the British GP. The Sauber driver, whose abilities have merited far better machinery, finally secured silverware in F1 – adding to his Le Mans winners trophy.<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz, who praised the 37-year-old’s result, believes Hulkenberg proved his worth long before securing a podium.<\/p>\n

Sainz: Hulkenberg podium record “completely irrelevant” to his abilities<\/h2>\n

F1, like any sport, is a results-based industry. The difference between victory and loss, being Champion or runner-up, are what drive teams in their relentless pursuit of performance.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Formula 1 consists of more than the drivers who win races and world titles.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Nico Hulkenberg celebrates after the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain. (Photo by Andy Hone\/LAT Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Over the last fifteen years, only four drivers and three teams have claimed F1 World Championships.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, prize money is distributed to more than these teams – and fans support and observe more than a select few drivers.<\/p>\n

Towards the end of the 2010s, it became increasingly common for F1 fans and media outlets to focus on the ‘midfield’ battles.<\/p>\n

From the shock podiums of the 2020 season to Sauber’s unlikely points in last year’s Qatar GP, drivers throughout the field generate narratives of their own.<\/p>\n

For Nico Hulkenberg, the fact his F1 career spans over a decade is a testament too his abilities.<\/p>\n

The media’s borderline obsession over his podium drought meant his extremely impressive years at Sauber<\/a>, Force India and Renault<\/a> – where often led teams to their best seasons in the Championship – were grossly underappreciated.<\/p>\n

After all, for drivers in the midfield, podium finishers are the exception. The bulk of their consist of their performances week-in and week-out.<\/p>\n

In this sense, Hulkenberg often failed to receive the credit he deserved for his career.<\/p>\n

Carlos Sainz<\/a> touched on this theme after the chequered flag in Silverstone:<\/p>\n

“Congrats \u2013 he must have done a very solid race to be up there in P3.<\/em><\/p>\n

“Honestly, for me, the fact that people kept cursing him – the fact that he didn\u2019t have any podiums, for me it was completely irrelevant.<\/em><\/p>\n

“For me, he\u2019s always been a top-five driver in the grid every time he\u2019s been in F1.<\/em><\/p>\n

“His level of talent and race execution is incredible.”<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"
Gabriel Bortoleto and Third placed Nico Hulkenberg team celebrate during the F1 Grand Prix of Great Britain. (Photo by Zak Mauger\/LAT Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sauber on track for unprecedented season<\/h4>\n

Initially, Hulkenberg’s decision to join Sauber – and by extension the Audi project – seemed a logical one at the beginning of 2024.<\/p>\n

However, as Haas improved and Sauber stagnated, there were concerns about whether Hulkenberg made the correct decision.<\/p>\n

The obstacles Audi<\/a> will inevitably face with the 2026 regulations only made these fears more acute.<\/p>\n

Thankfully for Hulkenberg, a series of mid-season updates starting at the Spanish GP have transformed Sauber’s campaign.<\/p>\n

His race in Silverstone, characterised by excellent pace, bold strategic calls and no mistakes, finally got him over the line and onto the podium steps.<\/p>\n

Still, this does not mean Hulkenberg’s season has no more stories to tell.<\/p>\n

The Le Mans<\/a> winner will be fighting in a very intense midfield battle for the remaining twelve rounds.<\/p>\n

Much like the majority of his career, the 37-year-old is tasked again tasked with leading his team up the standings.<\/p>\n

This time, however, he can do so without recurring questions about his podium record.<\/p>\n

Main photo: Photo by Zak Mauger\/LAT Images (Sauber media gallery)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nico Hulkenberg ended his seemingly eternal wait for a podium with a brilliant drive to finish 3rd at the British GP. The Sauber driver, whose abilities have merited far better machinery, finally secured silverware in F1 – adding to his Le Mans winners trophy. Carlos Sainz, who praised the 37-year-old’s result, believes Hulkenberg proved his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4927,"featured_media":35826,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[343,2452,256],"class_list":["post-35824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-formula-1","category-news","tag-carlos-sainz","tag-f1-2025-season","tag-nico-hulkenberg"],"modified_by":"Jaden Diaz-Ndisang","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4927"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35824"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35832,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35824\/revisions\/35832"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35826"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/motorsports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}