Schooling his driving instructor, a passion for burgers and trying out politics – Getting to know the real Nico Hulkenberg

It’s time for Nico Hulkenberg to experience Getting to Know as we put a series of quickfire questions the Haas driver’s way. From amusing driving test tales to trusting Lewis Hamilton with his pet dog, and his appreciation for old-school F1 racers to a love of burgers, the German shares everything in the video player above and transcript below…

Can you describe yourself in three words?

It’s tricky in three words! I would say dedicated, straight and fun.

What made you fall in love with F1?

I guess I was fascinated by the cars, the speed, and the performance of these cars at the very beginning, and I still am fascinated by that… The adrenaline that comes with that... And I love competition!

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When and where did you first drive something?

Hmm… The first time I drove a go-kart I was eight years old, I would say, and it all started there.

Did it feel great from the outset? Were you at one with it?

I would say it was love at first sight, definitely! The good thing is in motorsport the stopwatch never lies and the stopwatch looked pretty handy right away! I really liked it, my dad really liked it, so we kind of took off straight away from there.

There’s a lot of pressure on this next question… How many times did it take you to pass your driving test?

Ooh. I think it was more a test for the teacher, or the test guy! But first time, of course.

If you had to pick another F1 driver to look after your dog Zeus for a day, who would it be and why?

I’d probably go for Lewis, because he’s an approved dog daddy. I think he’s the most responsible, probably, from all of them.

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Who’s your best friend inside the paddock?

Quite a few. Over the years you get to work with so many good people and you build friendships and you stay friends with many. Right now, I would say our catering guys at Haas, because they really look after me! They do a fantastic job looking after the team on the culinary side but also after myself weekend in, weekend out. They are actually a very vital part in an F1 team.

Keeping you fuelled for the weekend…

Exactly!

And outside the paddock?

Obviously I have a couple… Not actually very many good friends, but two, three, a handful of really close friends that I would open up to or speak about very private stuff to. Some really from childhood days and some I’ve known for about 10 years.

Which three F1 personalities past or present would you invite to a dinner party and why?

Ooh. That’s a bit of a pool to choose from, Jesus! I would go a lot of old-school though, so I’d go James Hunt, to see if it was true, what they all said about him with the lifestyle! I think Alan Jones is another fun character, and then let me go with Nigel Mansell.

Who would be part of your all-time F1 dream team? So that’s two drivers and a team boss... A couple of drivers have chosen themselves as a driver and team boss, so feel free to do that if you want to…

Again, that’s a lot of talent to choose from! A tough question, a tricky question… I’d go Michael Schumacher, Niki Lauda and Team Principal… I’d go Ross Brawn.

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If you could form an F1 band, who would be involved and what would it be called?

Ooh. You’d have to give me some proper time to think about it! Because it’s quick, I’ll go… A bit of a colourful mix, I would say Max [Verstappen], Carlos [Sainz] and maybe [Alex] Albon, and we’d call ourselves The Backstraight Boys.

What’s your ultimate meal? That’s a starter, main, dessert and drink… You mentioned the catering here has been pretty good…

[Laughs]. Burger, burger, tiramisu and burger… And a Coke!

Have you ever had a doughnut burger before? That kind of mixes the two, sweet and savoury…

No, I did not…

So that’s a doughnut on the outside, beef burger in the middle…

Where did you get that? In the US?

In the UK…

Oh really? I should try that.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received? Apart from to try a doughnut burger…

[Laughs]. That sometimes you have to take one step back to take several steps forward.

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And what’s the worst advice you’ve ever received?

I don’t know… I tend to forget bad advice pretty quickly!

What’s the strangest gift you’ve ever been given by a fan?

Ooh. I don’t know about strange, but one comes to mind quite recently, this year or last year in Melbourne. On the Melbourne walk, where all the fans are, a Kevin Magnussen fan handed me a book… I think it was a book about Kevin, I don’t know if it’s even his biography, but he asked me if I could get it signed by Kevin, so of course I had it signed by Kevin and delivered back to him!

Very nicely done…

Fan service… First-class fan service!

Which other job do you wish you could try for a day?

Oof. Something different, something very different. I don’t know… A day of a politician.

We haven’t had that one yet… We’ve had astronaut a couple of times, zoo-keeper…

That’s a funny one actually!

But you’ll be kept busy in the world of politics…

Yeah, but I don’t think so much happens, they don’t do much, so I think it’ll be pretty chilled!

If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why?

Definitely to fly. Just convenient, easy, very efficient, no delays, no queueing, no airports!

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What’s your proudest moment in F1 so far?

Umm... I like to think and go back often to the ‘Hulken-back’ days and that was in 2020, the Nurburgring one, which was pretty crazy… From the couch at home to doing qualifying three hours later, then finishing P8 from last on the Sunday, without any preparation, that was pretty special.

What advice would you give to someone starting out in the sport?

It’s a lot of hard work. You need to be 100% dedicated, make no compromises, surround yourself with good, strong people who can really contribute, help you and advise you.

Where do you want to be in five years’ time?

In a happy place!