PALMER: How Hulkenberg tamed the Silverstone rain to finally claim that well-deserved podium

It was brilliant to finally see Nico Hulkenberg get that long-awaited podium at Silverstone. I know first-hand how talented he is, having been privy to a year’s worth of data on the other side of the garage when we were team mates at Renault in 2017.

For someone as good as Nico to need 239 races to end up on the podium is staggering, but he used all of his speed and nouse to convert the unlikeliest of chances on Sunday.

Hulkenberg was a first-year GP2 champion, winning the feeder category in 2009, which launched him on the path into Formula 1. It seemed inevitable at some point he would end up in a top Formula 1 seat, but somehow that chance has never come.