It’s been more than fifteen years since Nico Hulkenberg took part in his first Formula One race. His career has been a true rollercoaster, with ups and downs every now and then: he has raced with 8 different teams and competed alongside more than 15 teammates.
His talent was clear way before his debut in Formula 1 and that’s why many people expected him to do well once he finally arrived at the top, once he was able to race in the serie most drivers dream of.
A lot of people don’t realize that being able to race in Formula 1 is already a win for drivers: it means being one of the 20 fastest drivers in the whole world, but it doesn't mean that those who are able to reach it stop dreaming. We all, as humans, always aim at something bigger once we reach our initial goals but many of us give up once the next step seems too far, once it seems unreachable.
Nico has reached many goals in his life but there’s always been something hiding in the dark, something that always felt too far. In his career he has seen his teammates gain podium after podium and he dreamt to be able to do the same; he probably doubted himself a millions of times but even then, he never gave up.
Yesterday, at a rainy British Grand Prix, after 239 race starts, Nico Hulkenberg stood, for the first time in his career, on the Formula 1 podium. No one thought it could have happened due to his car performance but he showed everyone wrong, even his own team. He had stated, after qualifying, that he wasn't even sure of being able to get into the points and that was what everyone expected: the Sauber driver started the race in 19th place and had nobody behind him, he needed an extraordinary performance.
If possible, he did even more than that; an incredible drive from start to finish in non-ideal weather conditions. He was probably the only driver to not make any error, not even when he was under the biggest pressure, being chased by a 7 time world champion.
And he made it. After years and years of waiting he finally reached the podium.
What we have to learn from the amazing performance Nico had at Silverstone is to never give up on our dreams, because they might come true when we least expect it, but only if we continue to do something to try to achieve them.
