Taken from Motor Sport, July 2015

Many of us remember the days when a grand prix driver would happily race at Le Mans, in the hope of adding a victory in the ‘world’s greatest race’ to his tally. The Holy Grail was the triple, a world championship, the Indianapolis 500 and Le Mans, a feat famously achieved by Graham Hill.

Odd instances apart, those days seem long gone. Unless you are Nico Hülkenberg. The talented German, who’s endured a frustrating F1 career thus far, was keen to diversify and Porsche snapped him up to drive a third 919 at La Sarthe this summer. Once upon a time we wouldn’t have batted an eyelid, but in 2015 it’s perceived as both unusual and welcome that the Force India racer will tackle Le Mans between the Canadian and Austrian grands prix. He will be the first active F1 racer to contest the event since 2009, when Sébastien Bourdais – then with Toro Rosso – shared the second-placed Peugeot.