In Baku this past weekend, Sergio Perez scooped up his seventh career podium and his fourth for Force India, while Nico Hulkenberg watched on from the sidelines.
Once again it was about putting on a brave face while his teammate lifted a trophy, something the German so desperately desires.
Before he entered Formula One in 2010, Hulkenberg dominated nearly every junior formula he drove in and simply couldn’t’ stop winning.
In 2007, he clinched the A1 Grand Prix championship for Team Germany, then went on to win the European Formula Three championship the following season.
He’s still the last rookie to win the GP2 championship after he won the 2009 championship with ART Grand Prix.
A move into Formula One was inevitable and sure enough, Williams required his services for the 2010 season to partner veteran Rubens Barrichello.
Hulkenberg was out-scored 47-22 by the experienced Brazilian, however, he certainly impressed the paddock when he took his maiden pole position in the rain in Brazil.
Although, he would eventually finish in eighth place, the defensive skills he showcased proved to many he was destined for great things in Formula One.
But, in 2011, he found himself without a drive instead joining Force India as their reserve driver, he would then replace Adrian Sutil for the 2012 season.
It was at the Brazilian Grand Prix again where Hulkenberg had a golden opportunity of not only a maiden podium but a shock first race victory in one of the best races of the 21st century.
He led the race for 29 laps until he collided with Hamilton at turn one with the majority believing the German was to blame.
This driver error cost Hulkenberg and ultimately he will still label that race as the one that got away.
A move to Sauber in 2013 yielded little early on, however, Hulkenberg was right at the sharp end of the grid by the end of the season.
Incredibly, he finished in the top six four times in the last eight races but failed to score a podium. His impressive performances had made him a key candidate to replace Felipe Massa at Ferrari.
In the end, Raikkonen got the seat and Hulkenberg re-joined Force India for the 2014 season. The car was a podium contender early on and in Bahrain, Force India got their first podium since 2009.
However, it was Sergio Perez who was standing on the podium after out-pacing Hulkenberg in qualifying and the race.
The 2015 Le Mans winner scored six top-six finishes in the first seven races yet still failed to get that elusive podium.
He was overlooked by the big teams once again at the end of 2014, despite out-pointing teammate Perez 96-59.
The 2015 season saw a turning point in the Hulkenberg-Perez partnership as the Mexican started to dominate his German teammate and Hulkenberg seemed further away from a podium than ever before.
In Russia, Perez earned his fifth career top three while Hulkenberg spun out at the first corner of the race, collecting Marcus Ericsson.
2016 has been an all too familiar tale for ‘The Hulk’ as his teammate scored a brace of rostrum results in Monaco and Azerbaijan, while Nico finished down in sixth and ninth place respectively.
Hulkenberg has two main blockades in the way of finally earning a podium and making sure he doesn’t beat fellow countryman Adrian Sutil’s record of the most races without a podium (128 races).
Firstly, his team. This year’s Force India looks stronger than ever and on its day looks more than capable of sneaking a podium and not just at power circuits.
Furthermore, good strategy calls from the team are going to be crucial and have cost him chances at a podium before, like in Monaco this year.
He needs to be ahead of Sergio Perez in both qualifying and the race and that’s easier said than done especially when the Checo can sniff a possible podium.
The other main barrier is himself, he’s shown at Le Mans he can perform under pressure but questions have been raised over whether Hulkenberg cracks when the pressure is really on in Formula One.
Ultimately, Hulkenberg needs to find his form once again on a consistent basis and reduce the amount of errors in both qualifying and the race.
He can’t beat Perez when it comes to conserving tyres so sometimes he needs to go aggressive and not try and beat Perez at something the Mexican has truly mastered.
With a bit of luck, something which has seemingly eluded Hulkenberg since 2012, Hulkenberg should on paper score his maiden podium this season.
However, this is Formula One and sometimes, it just never happens for certain drivers. Just ask Adrian Sutil and Pierluigi Martini.
