The young German driver Nico Hülkenberg started out in karting at the age of nine. In the 2002 and 2003 seasons, he first won the Junior Karting Championship and then took the German senior title, an achievement that was rewarded with entry into Formula motor racing.

In the Formula BMW ADAC series, Hülk (as he is popularly known) was not only the best rookie but also won the championship outright. His victory in the German Formula 3 Cup then secured him a seat with A1-GP. The German team went on to record nine victories in the winter of 2006/2007 and claim the title. For Hülkenberg himself, that spelt yet another rung of the career ladder with a promotion to the Formula 3 Euro Series. In his first season, he finished third overall behind Romain Grosjean and Sebastien Buemi.

The fast German came to the attention of the Williams F1 team who invited him to test for them. His natural talent shone through and he was offered a test driver contract for 2008. He managed to combine this with an ongoing participation in the F3 Euro Series where he wrapped up the title ahead of time. In 2009, he once again drove for the ART team, this time in the GP2 series, well known as a training ground for Formula One. Once again, he secured the championship well ahead of the final race and finally made the breakthrough in to the top flight, signing as one of Williams´ two main drivers.