Lando Norris won his home race, but the star of a rainy F1 British Grand Prix turned out to be Nico Hulkenberg, who dragged his Team Stake car onto the podium, finally achieving a top-three result in his 239th Formula One start.
The 37-year-old veteran drove the wheels off his car, in changing conditions, to climb 16 spots to third after starting on the last row of the grid.
“I don’t think I can comprehend what we’ve just done,” Hulkenberg said to his team on the radio after crossing the line.
In a post-race interview, he was asked “it’s been a long time coming hasn’t it?”
“It’s pretty surreal – not sure how it happened, honestly, but obviously crazy conditions and a survival fight for a lot of the race,” said Hulkenberg. “I think we just were on it; the right calls at the right time in the right moment and no mistakes. Quite incredible.”
The podium didn’t come easy, as Hulkenberg needed to hold off the Ferrari of seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton in the closing stages but managed to get across the line five seconds ahead.
“I was in denial until probably about the last pit stop,” he said. “But then, when I heard we gapped Lewis quite a bit with the one extra lap [before stopping for tires], I thought ‘okay, this is good, I have some breathing space’ but then he was catching quite quickly. I was thinking he was going to give it his all in front of his home crowd but I was ‘sorry guy, it’s also my day’.”
Hulkenberg finished 34.742 seconds behind winner Norris, who closed the gap behind his championship-leading teammate Oscar Piastri to eight points, 234-226. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen, who finished fifth, sits third on 165.
The win marks the fourth time on the top step of the podium for Norris in 2025, but the first time he’s stood there on home soil.
“It’s beautiful; apart from a championship, this is as good as it can get in terms of feelings, in terms of achievement, being proud, all of it,” said Norris on his home win. “This is where it all started for me was watching you [interviewer 2009 world champion Jenson Button] on TV years ago and now thankfully I’ve been allowed to have my go. Stressful as always, but the support from the fans made the difference today.”
When asked about his thoughts in the last couple of laps, he said: “your mind just kind of goes pretty blank and all the things you might think before the race you forget. The main thing is always just ‘don’t [expletive] it up’ it’s rule No. 1.”
Piastri crossed the line second after looking to be the driver to beat, but it all fell apart when he slowed suddenly right before a restart on Lap 21, which saw Verstappen overshoot him.
That move incurred the wrath of the stewards, who slapped a 10-second penalty on the McLaren driver, which handed the win to Norris. In the end, Piastri finished 6.812 seconds behind his teammate.
“I’m not going to say much, I’ll get myself in trouble,” he said when asked to comment on the outcome. “Well done to Nico, that’s the highlight of the day.”
The team’s fifth 1-2 finish of the season gave it 422 points in the constructors standings, 220 ahead of second-placed Ferrari, at 222. Mercedes lies third on 210.
Things looked good for Canadian Lance Stroll in the wet conditions as he climbed to third at one point, but the Aston Martin driver faded as the track dried. He ended the day in seventh.
