Credit: Audi. Bortoleto leaning on Hulkenberg, both smiling in new Audi and adidas F1 kit. — Photo: © adidas/Audi

F1 News & Gossip

Lewis Hamilton stopped F1 star from signing for Mercedes

Could Nico Hulkenberg really have raced with Mercedes?

Sam Cook Digital Journalist

Sports Journalist who has been covering motorsport since 2023

Wednesday 21 January 2026 17:07

Former Mercedes F1 team principal Ross Brawn has disclosed that the Silver Arrows came close to signing Nico Hulkenberg in 2012.

With seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher choosing to step away from the sport at the end of that season, Mercedes were urgently searching for a high-profile replacement.

At that point, Hulkenberg was competing for Force India and finished the year with 63 points, having already made headlines earlier in his career by sensationally securing pole position at the 2010 Brazilian Grand Prix.

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As a German car manufacturer, Mercedes were interested in acquiring the services of the young German, and it would have maintained the all-German driver lineup following Schumacher's partnership with Nico Rosberg.

However, it soon became clear that the team might be able to poach 2008 world champion Lewis Hamilton, who was looking for a way out of McLaren.

Now, former Mercedes team principal Brawn has revealed just how close the Brackley-based outfit were to signing Hulkenberg.

"When I was at Mercedes, we almost employed Nico because we didn’t know what the situation was with Lewis for 2013," he told Formula 1.com

"We were having a challenging time closing that [Hamilton] deal and Nico was on standby. He behaved in a very mature way during those discussions.

"I made it as transparent as possible what the situation was, that there was a chance, but it depended on what Lewis decided to do in the end.

"When Lewis did sign with us, we managed to sort things out with Nico that we couldn’t go ahead. But I was quite looking forward to working with him because I think he’s a great driver."

Hulkenberg's alternative career path

It's not out of the question to imagine Hulkenberg might have a championship or two to his name had he have joined Mercedes for 2013. The team became the dominant force in the sport from 2014 onwards, and at the very least he would have claimed some grand prix wins.

Instead, Hulkenberg went to Sauber, before returning to Force India in 2014. The German would go on to set the record for the most grand prix starts without a podium, before finally breaking that hoodoo in 2025 after 239 races at the Silverstone Grand Prix.

Hulkenberg is now 38 years of age, but is arguably about to start the most exciting partnership of his whole career with Audi in 2026.

Audi have taken over his former Sauber team, and have the goal of being world champions by 2030, with Hulkenberg set to help them build towards that ambition.

Lewis Hamilton Mercedes Audi Nico Hulkenberg