Nicolas Hulkenberg was born on 19 August 1987 in Emmerich am Rhein, West Deutschland, as the son of Klaus Dieter and Susanne Hulkenberg. His father is the owner of Hulkenberg Spedition e.K. in Emmerich am Rhein.
At the age of ten Hulkenberg made his debut in karts. In 2002 he became German Junior Karting Champion and the following year he won the senior title in the German Kart Championship. At the beginning of his career, he was managed by Willi Weber.
After switching to the single-seaters, Hulkenberg won every championship he drove in all the way up to Formula 1. He won the 2005 BMW ADAC Formula Championship, the 2006 A1GP German title, the 2007 Masters of Formula 3 at Zandvoort, the 2008 Euroseries Formula 3 title and the 2009 GP2 Championship. It was clear that the road to Formula 1 was open for Hulkenberg.
As a test driver for Williams, he gained experience in 2009. In 2010 he made his debut in Formula 1. In changeable conditions, he scored his first pole position of his career in Brazil. After a test year at Force India, Hulkenberg drove for the team in 2012, moved to Sauber in 2013, before going back to Force India until the end of 2016.
Hulkenberg won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Porsche in 2015. At the end of 2016 he made the switch to Renault. He didn't score any podiums so far but finished seventh in the championship in 2018 as 'best of the rest'.