Nico Hulkenberg has tied the record for starting the most grands prix without ever winning one.
Today’s Chinese Grand Prix was Hulkenberg’s 208th start in a grand prix. He equalled the record set by Andrea de Cesaris 30 years ago.
However unlike de Cesaris, Hulkenberg has never reached the podium either. He already holds the record for most grands prix without appearing on the rostrum.
Both drivers’ careers spanned 14 years. De Cesaris made his F1 debut in 1980 with Alfa Romeo, the first of 10 different teams he drove for before retiring late in 1994. He competed in every season, but was dropped by Ligier halfway through his second season with them in 1985 following his latest crash.
De Cesaris developed a reputation for the toll he took on his machinery and his career would surely not have lasted as long as it did without the support of sponsor Marlboro. But there were also flashes of speed, including pole position at Long Beach in 1982, a pair of second place finishes in 1983, and a strong run in the 1991 Belgian Grand Prix for Jordan, a race he might have won had his car lasted the distance.
In contrast Hulkenberg arrived in F1 with a sky-high reputation from the junior categories. He took Germany to victory in A1 Grand Prix, won the Formula 3 Euroseries and clinched the GP2 (now Formula 2) title on his debut, as Lewis Hamilton did three years before him.
A promising debut season with Williams culminated in a stunning pole position at the Brazilian Grand Prix. But by that time the cash-strapped team had already told Hulkenberg he would be replaced by Pastor Maldonado and his Venezuelan millions.
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After a year on the sidelines, Hulkenberg made an impressive return in 2012 with Force India (now Aston Martin) and could have won at Interlagos that year, where he led 30 laps before going out in a collision with Hamilton. He made an ill-advised switch to Sauber before rejoining his previous team, where he stayed for three years, but was unable to replicate team mate Sergio Perez’s occasional forays into the top three. A mixture of mistakes and misfortune accounted for the few opportunities which came his way.
With his move to Renault in 2017 it seemed Hulkenberg finally had the chance to lead a manufacturer-basked operation to the front. But further podium chances eluded him, most painfully when he crashed out on home ground in 2019, and he was dropped at the end of…
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