Kick Sauber F1 driver Nico Hulkenberg was spending his time away from the track with his wife, Egle, and daughter, Noemi, in Italy. The German driver recently experienced a career high after he achieved his first podium in F1 at the British Grand Prix earlier in the month.The 37-year-old has been racing at the pinnacle of motorsport on and off since 2010, when he made his debut with Williams F1 and earned himself a reputation for being a consistent points scorer in midfield.The German driver returned to the sport ahead of the 2023 season with the Haas F1 team, after sitting on the sidelines for three years, but made a couple of one-off appearances for Aston Martin during that time. Not many had anticipated that Nico Hulkenberg would break his duck of never standing on a podium with the Hinwil-based outfit in Silverstone, where he was starting from P19.The Kick Sauber driver got the complete opportunity to celebrate his first podium with his family and friends, and even took a mini-vacation with his wife and daughter to Italy during the three-week break between Silverstone and Spa. Hulkenberg documented his vacation on his Instagram and shared a series of pictures and videos from the trip and wrote"Successful Italian week 👌🏼🇮🇹 Noemi can swim, drive cars & boats now 🤠 Happy to get back to work!" View this post on Instagram Instagram PostFollowing his podium finish in the British GP, the entire paddock complimented Nico Hulkenberg on his achievement, with his team principal, Jonathan Wheatley, leading the applause.Kick Sauber team boss pays tribute to Nico Hulkenberg following his maiden podiumKick Sauber team principal Jonathan Wheatley stated that he believed that no one deserved a podium more than Nico Hulkenberg, given his trials and tribulations over the years in the sport.Speaking with F1.com, the Brit, who took over the role in April, said:“From starting in 19th to P3 this was the lowest ever starting position for a podium finisher in Sauber’s 32-year history and, after 239 Grand Prix starts, Nico delivered the goods. No driver is more deserving of a podium than Nico. Nico drove an outstanding race today, one of the best I've seen at Silverstone and one of the best I've seen of any driver ever."It seems incredible to me that we're all celebrating a podium, as it feels to me like he should have been getting them all his career. I've considered him to be an extraordinary talent for a very long time, and I think I've been consistent in saying that to everyone here."Nico Hulkenberg has been one of the form drivers in the last couple of weekends, scoring 31 points in four races since the Swiss team brought their upgrade package to Barcelona