Ross Brawn: How Nico Hulkenberg nearly took Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes seat

Ross Brawn has revealed that Nico Hulkenberg “was on standby” to join Mercedes for 2013 if the team had failed to lure Lewis Hamilton from McLaren.

Hamilton joined Mercedes from McLaren at the end of the 2012 season after a frustrating period following his maiden title triumph in 2008.

Ross Brawn: Nico Hulkenberg ‘was on standby’ as Lewis Hamilton’s Mercedes talks unfolded

Want more PlanetF1.com coverage? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for news you can trust

The British driver’s move was regarded as a risk at the time given that Mercedes had been limited to just a single win since its takeover of the Brawn GP team in 2010.

However, Hamilton’s switch to Mercedes proved to be one of the most inspired transfers in sporting history as he won six titles in seven years between 2014 and 2020 to equal his predecessor Michael Schumacher’s record of seven championships.

Hulkenberg, who now competes for Audi, was considered a potential star of the future in 2012 having impressed for the likes of Williams and Force India.

Go deeper: Lewis Hamilton’s F1 career moves

Five great F1 career moves: Hamilton to Mercedes, Schumacher to Ferrari and more

Revealed: The failed Lewis Hamilton 2007 negotiations ‘hardly anyone knows’ about

The German famously claimed pole position in mixed conditions in Brazil during his rookie season with Williams in 2010 before briefly challenging Hamilton and McLaren teammate Jenson Button for victory at the same venue two years later.

Brawn, who left Mercedes ahead of the 2014 season, has revealed that the team would have replaced Schumacher with Hulkenberg for 2013 if its ambitious move for Hamilton had collapsed.

Hulkenberg, who went on to join Sauber for 2013, would have ended up forming an all-German driver pairing at Mercedes with Nico Roberg, who went on to retire at the end of the 2016 season after beating Hamilton to that year’s championship.

Brawn told the official F1 website: “When I was at Mercedes, we almost employed Nico because we didn’t know what the situation was with Lewis for 2013.

“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 [of a Mercedes deal], 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, who won the Le Mans 24 Hours with Porsche in 2015, has had a largely unfulfilled career in F1 with the veteran left without a permanent seat between 2020 and 2022 after being dropped by Renault.

The 38-year-old finally secured his first F1 podium finish in his 239th appearance at last year’s British Grand Prix, where he finished third for Sauber.

Brawn added that it was “lovely to see” Hulkenberg on the podium at Silverstone last season.

He said: “He’s very, very mature and very balanced. He’s had a great career.

“It’s hard to imagine that Silverstone was his first podium after so long and after some great performances and great drives.

“That outcome was lovely to see and I was particularly pleased given that I know him fairly well.

“It was a good result for the season.”

Want to be the first to know exclusive information from the F1 paddock? Join our broadcast channel on WhatsApp to get the scoop on the latest developments from our team of accredited journalists.

You can also subscribe to the PlanetF1 YouTube channel for exclusive features, hear from our paddock journalists with stories from the heart of Formula 1 and much more!

Read next: F1 2026 uncovered: How Boost, Overtake, and sustainable fuel change the game