Nicholas “Nico” Gülkenberg is a German racing driver.
Place of Birth, Education
He was born on August 19, 1987 in the German city of Emmerich am Rhein.
Career
Gülkenberg first took part in karting competitions in 1997, when he was 10 years old.
In 2002, he became the champion of Germany among juniors, and the next year he won the national championship.
In 2005, he made his debut in German Formula BMW. In the world final, he finished first, but later the victory was annulled due to hard braking near other cars while the safety car was on the track.
Formula 3
In 2006, Hülkenberg began competing in Formula 3. There he won one victory in the German championship. In the same year, he joined the German national team in the A1 Grand Prix series for the 2006 – 2007 season.
The driver’s debut was successful – nine victories in the first season made him the most successful driver in the history of this series. Thanks to the results, the German national team won the overall standings.
In 2007, the racing driver focused on performances in the Formula 3 Euroseries, where he received a place in the ASM team. He won his first victory in the series at the Norrisring track, starting from 18th position. He achieved his second victory during a rainy race at the Zandvoort circuit, and the third at the Nürburgring.
But it was not without difficulties. At the stage in Magny-Cours, he received a penalty for driving another lap in qualifying after showing the finish flag. In addition, during the race itself, he collided with another racer – Philip Salaquarda.
Gülkenberg won the Formula 3 Masters race in Zolder, which was not included in the championship standings. He then finished first, ahead of his teammate and Formula 3 championship leader Romain Grosjean.
Nico’s manager at that time was Willy Weber, who had previously represented the interests of Michael Schumacher for many years. In an interview, Weber praised the talent of the racing driver, calling it “incredible” and adding that Gülkenberg reminds him of a young Michael Schumacher.
GP2
In 2008, Gulkenberwon the championship title in the Formula 3 Euroseries.
At the end of the same year, Nico made his debut in the GP2 Asia series, remaining as part of the ART Grand Prix team. He spent his first stage in this series in Bahrain, on the third stage of the 2008-2009 season, where he immediately won pole position.
In the first two races of the GP2 Asia series, Gülkenberg finished fourth, which allowed him to climb to seventh position in the overall standings.
During the following race weekend in Qatar, he became the first driver to take pole position in a night race, as well as the first to win and set the fastest lap in a night race.
In the sprint race, the driver finished third, and at the end of four races he scored 27 points. After that, he completed his participation in the championship, retaining the sixth place in the overall standings.
2010 – tep. Time
In 2010, Gulkenberg made his Formula 1 debut, driving for Williams. During the season, he won the first pole for the team in the last five years. However, despite this success, the team decided not to renew his contract for 2011.
After that, the racing driver joined Force India as a test pilot. In 2012, he returned to active racing, becoming the main driver of Force India alongside Paul di Resta.
In 2015, he took part in two stages of the FIA World Endurance Championship, driving for Porsche. On the first attempt, he won the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Since 2017, he has competed for Renault in Formula 1. However, for the 2020 season, he was replaced by Esteban Ocon. After that, Gulkenberg returned to Force India, which at that time had already changed its name to Racing Point, and later to Aston Martin. Between 2020 and 2022, he was a reserve pilot.
In 2023, he became the main driver again, this time as part of the Haas team. For the 2025 season, Gülkenberg has signed a contract with Sauber, which is preparing to take control of Audi in 2026.
