Nico Hulkenberg 'breaks F1 cooldown room protocol' after first-ever podium finish as Lando Norris forced to step in

Nico Hulkenberg 'broke an F1 protocol' as he entered the cooldown room after securing his first-ever podium finish at the British Grand Prix.

Norris finished ahead of his McLaren teammate Oscar Piastri to win the British Grand Prix on Sunday.

The Brit dropped an F-bomb in a hilarious moment when he reflected on his achievement.

Hulkenberg took third place. The 37-year-old cut an emotional figure as his team radio message emerged after the Sauber driver landed his first podium finish of his career.

After the conclusion of the British Grand Prix, Hulkenberg and Piastri entered the cooldown room, with Norris arriving after his counterparts.

And the McLaren star made his way into the cooldown room with Hulkenberg's helmet.

Once Norris placed Hulkenberg's helmet and his own on the stand, the German could be heard saying: "What do we need it for?"

Of course, it's his debut in the cooldown room, having never finished on the podium before, so he was clearly unaware that his helmet was required.

lando bringing the helmet for nico and him asking why would he need it for 😭😭 pls it's his first time he's so lost on what to do 😭 pic.twitter.com/II2Ej2krVj

— ana (@sextappen) July 6, 2025

In his post-race interview, Hulkenberg said his podium finish was a 'long time coming'.

"It has been a long time coming, hasn't it? I always knew we have it in us, I have it in me somewhere. What a race, coming from virtually last, doing it all over again from last weekend, it's pretty surreal to be honest," he told Jenson Button.

"Not sure how it all happened but obviously crazy conditions, mixed conditions. It was a survival fight for a lot of the race. I think we were just on it, the right calls, the right tyres, the right moment, made no mistakes and yeah, quite incredible."

Hulkenberg added: "Today, I was in denial until like probably the last pit stop, then I head we gapped Lewis quite a bit with the extra lap, I was like OK this is good. Gives some breathing space but you know he was catching quite quickly. The pressure was there, it was an intense race. We didn't crack. No mistakes and obviously really happy with that.

"I was thinking that he's going to give it all in front of his home crowd, and I was like, 'sorry guys, but it's also my day.' I had to stick my neck out. I'm super happy. Thank you for the great energy and support here, every year."