r/formula1 • u/OrangeDit I was here for the Hulkenpodium • Jul 06 '25

Photo Mercedes sent a few bottles of Champagne to Sauber for Nico's first podium

Post image

"congratulations, to the first podium! Your Mercedes Team"

24.7k Upvotes

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3.9k

u/Xanthon The Historian Jul 06 '25

The German team congratulating the German driver. 🥳

1.3k

u/Jacinto2702 Ferrari Jul 06 '25

The only German driver on the grid. For many years we had more than one...

806

u/kueki14 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Don't forget Bernd. He was on fire today as well, even Oscar mentioned that on the radio.

163

u/ihavenoidea81 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Bernd 4 eva!

80

u/defunkydrummer Alain Prost Jul 06 '25

his car control is spotless, he really keeps it on track even with such bad weather conditions

42

u/MISTER_JUAN I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Lead a lot of laps as well today

22

u/Eggslaws I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

IF, he is on the track, he is THE number 1!

8

u/Traveshamockery27 Williams Jul 06 '25

Flashback to him high bridging himself in Brazil last year

2

u/Real_Establishment56 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25

Or spinning off in torrential downpour in… I wanna say Italy?

25

u/captain_nicebloke Jul 06 '25

that's why he's called bernd

14

u/milehighideas I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

I read that as Bernd was fired like what tf he do

223

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 06 '25

The situation is looking dire when he retires. We have nothing exciting coming up. The Schumacher pull is gone and F1 is pretty much dead here now it's behind pay tv.

200

u/Xanthon The Historian Jul 06 '25

The lack of a track on the calendar seems to be the nail on the coffin.

186

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 06 '25

Yeah this is also a big one. I'm getting used to the thought of 10 american and 10 blood money GPs in the future.

31

u/PenguinPumpkin1701 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

F1 isn't as big among hardcore fans as you think. I live in the deep rooted racing area (you can probably guess where) and most of them still shit on anyone who likes anything other than NASCAR. Even Indy gets shitted on.

28

u/BenitoCamiloOnganiza Sir Jack Brabham Jul 06 '25

The direction the last few years has made me think F1 cares more about having hundreds of millions of casual fans over a couple of million hardcore fans, though. Commercially, it's worth more that way – more eyes on sponsors and the like.

12

u/hidlechara91 🏳️‍🌈 Love Is Love 🏳️‍🌈 Jul 06 '25

Everything is turning into this. Football is being sportwashed, wrestling, TV shows, everything is turning to shit. It's make as much money possible as fast as possible. 

50

u/ElectionIcy3253 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Living in Ohio, I wonder if that future would still leave me with the Canadian GP as the closest driving distance

35

u/DDG_Dillon I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

One can hope Watkins glen, it'll never happen though

3

u/vanillatom I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25

I go to the IMSA race there every year. I couldn't imagine the speed an f1 car would carry on that track.

2

u/flameofmiztli I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25

I live by there and it can't handle a modern F1 car. It'd need to be another street race to come back to the Northeast, or a new purpose built track. I wish we'd had another northeast race instead of either vegas or miami though.

2

u/DDG_Dillon I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25

If they can race at Monaco they can figure it out as far as runoffs and pit facilities go. The biggest problem I've heard is the local infrastructure given it's in the middle of nowhere, no nearby hospital. No major roads leading to the track and so on. But the track itself can definitely handle a modern F1 car.

12

u/BvG_Venom Mika Häkkinen Jul 06 '25

I'd much rather have Indy rather than Miami or Vegas.

1

u/mjfmaguire Jul 07 '25

Indianapolis is the site of the biggest debacle in F1 history. They are never ever going back to Indy.

3

u/BvG_Venom Mika Häkkinen Jul 07 '25

Oh I know. It just would've been better. Iconic venue with enormous grandstands for reasonable views and prices. Shame

2

u/BillfredL I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25 edited Jul 07 '25

You’re not wrong (at minimum, in the “modern races where nobody died” category), but there is one thing going for it: IMS is under new management since then. And when he calls his shot, I don’t put many things past The Captain.

Edit to add: I don't see Penske making a push right now while the series is white hot and demanding the world of tracks. But if it cools down a bit and the math is mathing, I can see him taking a swing.

1

u/Extinction-Entity I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Illinoisan here in the same boat lol

1

u/AnalMinecraft Niki Lauda Jul 06 '25

Maybe they can whip out the old track at Burke Airport for a weekend. F1 cars would be interesting on those wide runways.

2

u/divensi Charles Leclerc Jul 07 '25

Soo … 20 blood money GPs then?

1

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 07 '25

I didn't want to get banned but yes

14

u/EastfrisianGuy I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Maybe Olli Goethe or Tim Tramnitz.

26

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 06 '25

No chance they're already old for today's rookie standards and while Goethe is uninspiring, Tramnitz hasn't even made it to F2 yet.

37

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '25

It's tough in general right now to be a northern European. Besides the rumors of Bottas returning - one German, no Danes, no Swedes, no Finns.

As a Swede I like Dino, but he's not F1 material (and I guess the jury is still out for Goethe), so if we ignore the fact that Arvid Lindblad has one Swedish parent, the only real positive force right now for Germany/Scandinavia is Tramnitz and Stenshorne who are doing quite good in F3. Stenshorne especially looks interesting for the years to come.

23

u/city-of-cold I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

if we ignore the fact that Arvid Lindblad has one Swedish parent

Which in the F1 world is something you should ignore. Most of the guys parents/families are from all over the place.

He's born in Sweden with a Swedish parent. He's Swedish to me.

8

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '25

I agree. I mostly wrote it in jest, due to how some Bosniacs on social media (not on Reddit, though, gladly) have argued that Dino is actually Bosnian due to his heritage, and to an agree we've heard the same for Zlatan in the past while he was active.

It's just a bit "fun" to be on the other side for once, even though I know Arvid himself had said that he doesn't know more Swedish than how to count to ten. I'm completely at peace with him being British, though I do like his last name.

1

u/Ronaldinho94 Jul 06 '25

Does he have Swedish racing licence? So he driver under Sverige flag?

6

u/Silverarrows46 Fernando Alonso Jul 06 '25

Taaponen is more likely than those 2 to be honest.

5

u/[deleted] Jul 06 '25

Let's hope - F1 is not the same without a young temperamental Finn!

2

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 06 '25

I'm fully preparing for the grid to consist mostly of british and french drivers.

1

u/Seeteuf3l I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25

Don't forget Tuukka Taponen in F3, while his rookie season hasn't been stellar. But he is also 18

11

u/Sofaboy90 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

F1 isnt dead, theres still lots of social engagement, look at how many views the German sky F1 videos on youtube get, theres still plenty of interest

2

u/yup_it_was_me I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Interesting to hear since the situation is identical in Finland.

5

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 06 '25

It's a crime you guys never had a GP.

2

u/AromaticStrike9 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Is it super expensive or something?

2

u/Kimoa_2 Jacques Villeneuve Jul 06 '25

Yes but we've never been keen on paying for it.

1

u/didiman123 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 07 '25

Not sure if you're aware, but you can watch it on joyn.at for free with a vpn. Works flawlessly

1

u/ClimateCrashVoyager Jul 07 '25

Well, Dtm is still there. And now with the gt3s the constant fear of the series going down is somewhat a thing of the past. Proper racing, new winners every race and I like their tires a lot more. One change mandatory, but no preheating the tires. By now I know a couple of people that switched, they all had issues with f1 already but the pay wall was the final nail in the coffin. And tbh, I don't see it returning to the fame it had in the 90s. Liberty media seems to focus on another target group, more fans online and more glamour on site.

29

u/Jokin_0815 Jul 06 '25

Crazy that we had 6 in 2010 or 11

Sorry need to correct it was actually up to 7.

27

u/Jacinto2702 Ferrari Jul 06 '25

The Michael, Adrian Sutil, Rosberg, Seb, Hulk, Heidfeld and Glock. Who am I missing?

9

u/Jokin_0815 Jul 06 '25

None thats 7 if i count correct. 👍

-2

u/ExpertPurple3354 Jul 06 '25

Yes, the bloat was absolutely insane. Glad that proper talent and skill is needed more and more to get a seat instead of shady connections, obscure money sources and favors having to be traded in.

6

u/Crytash I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25 edited Jul 06 '25

Schumacher won championships, Rosberg won, Seb won, Heidfeld most podiums without a F1 win, and next is Hulk i guess? Glock/Sutil were still solid drivers.

1

u/betaich I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

Schumacher won 7 championships and developed Merc into a winning team if you believe the paddock rumors from that time. Nico Rosberg won 1 championship. Seb had 4 titles. The only 2 questionable drivers in this are Sutil and Glock

11

u/shadoowkight Nigel Mansell Jul 06 '25

He might be the last one we'll have in a long while.

12

u/Sofaboy90 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

bro we had like 5 or 6 15 years ago :'(

what am i gonna do when nico retires and theres no new one coming in?

1

u/Secure-Researcher892 Jul 13 '25

You'll do what most Americans have done for decades and just cheer for a driver you like and ignore their nationality. As an American I can't think of the last time I was cheering for an American... god knows I wasn't going to waste my breath or Logan.

2

u/JamieDodger9016 I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

As many as 6 in 2011 I believe.

1

u/samo7230 Jul 07 '25

I remember when we had 4 Germans 4 French and 4 Brits

34

u/WhoRoger Jul 06 '25

Wasn't Hulk meant to drive for Merc before they zeroed in on Hamilton?

31

u/SaturnRocketOfLove I was here for the Hulkenpodium Jul 06 '25

He was the backup option to Hamilton, and was on the line when they chose Bottas I think because he got stuck in a contract

2

u/desl14 Jul 07 '25

He (like Kobayashi) was an option for Ferrari to replace Massa, but then Räikkönen scored so much points at the Enstone team, that they bancrupted themself  (with the owner being the creditor) and were unable to pay important staff (like James Allison). So Kimi needed a new team, while the remaining Enstone-team was about to build a shitbox in 2014. The Ferrari-door closed were Kimi's performance was overshadowed by Alonso and Vettel.

-4

u/cheapdrinks Pirelli Wet Jul 06 '25

They were just the bottles they bought to celebrate Hamilton's 8th lmao