The German driver\u2019s best-placed performance over a season came in 2018, when he finished in the seventh-place \u2018best of the rest\u2019 position of the drivers\u2019 championship whilst driving for Renault alongside Carlos Sainz<\/a>.<\/p>\n AS TEAMMATESSAIHULPoints scored107112Best result5th5thQualifying head-to-head916Race head-to-head1111Sainz vs Hulkenberg at Renault, 2017-2018<\/p>\n He found himself without a drive in F1 two seasons later when the team replaced him with Esteban Ocon, who was without a seat at the time. In hindsight, Hulkenberg has admitted that losing his seat for the 2020 season<\/a> was the best thing to happen for his career.<\/p>\n He returned to the sport full-time in 2023 with Haas and finally secured his first podium in F1 at the British Grand Prix in July. Journalists noted that Hulkenberg\u2019s podium was the first time they had ever seen the F1 media centre cheer in unison<\/a>. <\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Sauber driver Nico Hulkenberg\u2019s life outside F1 from wife to height<\/a><\/p>\n Nico Hulkenberg\u2019s \u2018lack of social intelligence\u2019 hampered his chances of joining the best F1 teams<\/p>\n Speaking on Sky Sports<\/a> F1\u2019s coverage of the Belgian Grand Prix (27\/7 1:18pm), former F1 driver Nico Rosberg<\/a> gave his opinion on why we haven\u2019t seen Hulkenberg get given a chance in a seat that is capable of winning races or challenging for a world championship.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, I would put it down to his Achilles\u2019 heel, throughout his career, being a little bit of a lack of social intelligence,\u201d the 2016 world champion theorised. <\/p>\n \u201cAs a driver, it\u2019s part of your job to get yourself in the best team and the best car. Otherwise, you will not be able to win races. And I think that\u2019s something that went wrong for him. <\/p>\n \u201cToo many times did we hear from team bosses, \u2018that guy was a little bit difficult, we may prioritise another driver over him,\u2019 things like that. So, I think if anything, that may have been his weakness so far in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0All you need to know about Sauber from team principal to 2026 Audi future<\/a><\/p>\n Nico Hulkenberg previously revealed that he\u2019s been waiting for an F1 offer from Ferrari for over ten years<\/p>\n Hulkenberg previously revealed that he was on the radar at Ferrari<\/a> for a potential race seat in 2014. The team opted to sign Kimi Raikkonen from Lotus to partner Fernando Alonso instead, with Hulkenberg stating that he never received a reason for the snub.<\/p>\n Formula E driver Sam Bird noted Hulkenberg\u2019s build as the reason<\/a> he was never given a shot in some race-winning F1 machinery. The Brit declared that Hulkenberg possessed the talent of a champion, but his taller stature severely hampered his chances of a seat at some of the front runners of the sport.<\/p>\n![\"Nico](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-2223822421-1024x683.jpg\")
Photo by Kym Illman\/Getty Images<\/p>\n