Watch: Max Verstappen cheering for Nico Hulkenberg as the German ended his barren podium run in the F1 British GP

Reigning F1 World Champion Max Verstappen was seen cheering for Nico Hulkenberg after the latter clinched his first Formula 1 podium at the 2025 British Grand Prix. This was a major achievement for Hulkenberg, who scored his maiden top-three finish in the sport in his 239th race start.

Although Verstappen had a difficult weekend (other than his pole position on Saturday), he seemed to be quite excited for Hulkenberg. In a video that went viral on social media, the Red Bull driver was seen cheering at the Sauber driver on the old pit straight during the cool-down lap.

The German driver has been on the grid since 2010. In all the different teams he drove for, Hulkenberg never had the chance to drive for a competitive, race-winning team. His best finish remained stuck at several P4s, which he collected throughout the years.

But his first celebration came at Silverstone after a difficult and incident-filled British GP gave him enough clear air to clinch P3. Sauber's strategy and Max Verstappen's spin allowed him to stick in the position, and his excellent and consistent drive helped him keep it.

At the same time, Max Verstappen was stuck with an underperforming car throughout the weekend.

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How did Max Verstappen finish down in P5 despite his pole position earlier?

Max Verstappen spins out of a podium contention, 2025 F1 British GP (Getty Images)

The 2025 British GP weekend was set to be difficult for Max Verstappen. Considering his comments during the free practice sessions, the Red Bull appeared undrivable. However, a last-minute change in setup saw the team cut down on downforce to gain more speed on straights during the race.

But this was quick to backfire. Even though he took pole position (after all contenders made mistakes on their final runs), the drenched track was extremely difficult to drive on with that setup. The team couldn't have modified it due to the Parc Ferme regulations, and Verstappen was left with a low downforce car on a very wet track.

Even though he was in strong contention throughout, Verstappen spun out from P2 during a safety car restart, sending him out of the top 10. He did manage to gain some positions, but finished behind the Ferrari of Lewis Hamilton in P5.

Verstappen appears to be falling out of championship contention this season with each passing race. Red Bull is currently not in a good state, and the McLaren domination has witnessed a total lockup at the top of the standings. Although he is still in third place, there is a 46-point gap between him and Lando Norris in second place.