Nico Hulkenberg makes feelings clear on Max Verstappen after finally securing F1 podium finish

Nico Hulkenberg has opened up on Max Verstappen's reaction to him securing his first-ever podium in Formula 1 at the British Grand Prix.

Hulkenberg had previously held the record for the highest number of F1 starts without achieving a top-three finish but that statistic has now been consigned to history after the 37-year-old finished third at Silverstone.

The German drove an excellent race in difficult conditions to finish behind the dominant McLaren one-two of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who he had a notable exchange with in his maiden appearance in the cooldown room.

Hulkenberg managed to hold off Lewis Hamilton in his Ferrari to take the final spot on the podium and secure his first top-three finish since making his F1 debut with Williams back in 2010.

Nico Hulkenberg celebrates his first ever podium in Formula 1. (Image: Getty)

The result has been a long time coming for Hulkenberg, who has also had spells at teams such as Force India, Renault, Racing Point, Aston Martin and Haas before claiming his first podium in F1.

Hulkenberg joined Sauber at the start of this season, before the team morphs into the Audi works team for 2026 with its own in-house engine, with the current team using customer Ferrari engines.

The German's previous best finish had been fourth on a couple of occasions but now has a third place on his racing CV and the record for the most number of Grand Prix starts without a podium now passes to Adrian Sutil, who last raced in F1 back in 2014, with 128.

After the end of the Grand Prix, four-time world champion Verstappen was the first driver to congratulate Hulkenberg on his achievement and also fist bumped the air towards the Sauber driver on the cooldown lap after the race as he drove past him.

Verstappen, who finished fifth at Silverstone, hailed the result for Hulkenberg as the positive story of the day and expressed his happiness that the German got on the podium at long last.

Nico Hulkenberg is congratulated by Max Verstappen after finishing third at the British Grand Prix. (Image: Getty)

Speaking to Viaplay, the Red Bull driver said: "Yeah, amazing! That’s the positive thing of the day! I am so happy for him that he got the podium, yeah, so nice to see."

And Hulkenberg hailed Verstappen's classy actions as he congratulated him and spoke about how long they have known each other as he labelled the Dutchman a 'great human being'.

Hulkenberg said: "Max was the first guy when I got out of the car who. We go way back from karting days.

"I think we have a lot of respect.

"I have huge respect for him, what he does, what he stands for. A great human being."

The result and 15 points which come with it means Hulkenberg has risen to ninth in the Drivers' Championship, while the Sauber team has climbed three placed to sixth in the Constructors' Championship.