Nico Hulkenberg has long been associated with F1 after making his debut during the 2010 season.
The German has endured periods on the sidelines, but his long relationship with the sport has seen him etch his name among the veteran drivers.
Ahead of the 2026 F1 season, Hulkenberg sits as the 16th most experienced driver in history with 227 grands prix to his name.
The expansion of the F1 calendar in recent years has naturally augmented Hulkenberg’s figure compared to other drivers, with the German having more race starts than 28 world champions.
Despite his long tenure with F1, Hulkenberg has infamously does not have a single podium to his name.
It is well known that Hulkenberg holds the unfortunate record for the most race starts without a podium result.
This, in turn, leads to the 37-year-old sitting in a unique position among the most experienced drivers in F1 history - and being the only one without a podium to show for his long stint.
In the list of the top 56 most experienced drivers, which you can find below, Hulkenberg is the only competitor to never break into the top three during a grand prix.
Furthermore, throughout F1’s history, 80 drivers have taken part in more than 100 race starts - Hulkenberg is one of only four drivers who have not scored a podium with more than a century of entries.
The others are Philippe Alliot, Pierluigi Martini and Adrian Sutil.
Sutil, who is 57th on the all-time race start list, is the next driver after Hulkenberg to never achieve a podium.
Most F1 race starts and best result
| Pos. | Driver | Race starts | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Fernando Alonso | 401 | 1 |
| 2. | Lewis Hamilton | 356 | 1 |
| 3. | Kimi Raikkonen | 349 | 1 |
| 4. | Rubens Barrichello | 323 | 1 |
| 5. | Michael Schumacher | 307 | 1 |
| 6. | Jenson Button | 306 | 1 |
| 7. | Sebastian Vettel | 299 | 1 |
| 8. | Sergio Perez | 281 | 1 |
| 9. | Felipe Massa | 269 | 1 |
| 10. | Daniel Ricciardo | 257 | 1 |
| 11. | Riccardo Patrese | 256 | 1 |
| 12. | Jarno Trulli | 252 | 1 |
| 13. | David Coulthard | 246 | 1 |
| 14. | Valtteri Bottas | 246 | 1 |
| 15. | Giancarlo Fisichella | 229 | 1 |
| 16. | Nico Hulkenberg | 227 | 4 |
| 17. | Mark Webber | 215 | 1 |
| 18. | Gerhard Berger | 210 | 1 |
| 19. | Max Verstappen | 209 | 1 |
| 20. | Andrea de Cesaris | 208 | 2 |
| 21. | Nico Rosberg | 206 | 1 |
| 22. | Carlos Sainz | 206 | 1 |
| 23. | Nelson Piquet | 204 | 1 |
| 24. | Jean Alesi | 201 | 1 |
| 25. | Alain Prost | 199 | 1 |
| 26. | Michele Alboreto | 194 | 1 |
| 27. | Nigel Mansell | 187 | 1 |
| 28. | Kevin Magnussen | 185 | 2 |
| 29. | Nick Heidfeld | 183 | 2 |
| 30. | Ralf Schumacher | 180 | 1 |
| 31. | Romain Grosjean | 179 | 2 |
| 32. | Jacques Laffite | 176 | 1 |
| 33. | Graham Hill | 175 | 1 |
| 34. | Niki Lauda | 171 | 1 |
| 35. | Lance Stroll | 166 | 3 |
| 36. | Thierry Boutsen | 163 | 1 |
| 37. | Jacques Villeneuve | 163 | 1 |
| 38. | Ayrton Senna | 161 | 1 |
| 39. | Johnny Herbert | 161 | 1 |
| 40. | Mika Hakkinen | 161 | 1 |
| 41. | Martin Brundle | 158 | 2 |
| 42. | Olivier Panis | 158 | 1 |
| 43. | Heinz-Harald Frentzen | 156 | 1 |
| 44. | Esteban Ocon | 156 | 1 |
| 45. | Pierre Gasly | 153 | 1 |
| 46. | John Watson | 152 | 1 |
| 47. | Rene Arnoux | 149 | 1 |
| 48. | Charles Leclerc | 147 | 1 |
| 49. | Carlos Reutemann | 146 | 1 |
| 50. | Derek Warwick | 146 | 2 |
| 51. | Eddie Irvine | 145 | 1 |
| 52. | Emerson Fittipaldi | 144 | 1 |
| 53. | Jean-Pierre Jarier | 134 | 3 |
| 54. | Clay Regazzoni | 132 | 1 |
| 55. | Eddie Cheever | 132 | 2 |
| 56. | Mario Andretti | 128 | 1 |
Also interesting:
Join RacingNews365's Ian Parkes, Sam Coop and Nick Golding, as they look into the six full-time F1 rookies featuring on this year's grid. Who will do the best is discussed, as is who could face an early exit.
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