Pastor Maldonado began karting at the age of seven and quickly moved into national competitions. At 14, in 1999, he relocated to Europe to advance his racing career. He continued karting in European series until 2002 while also beginning in car racing. He participated in various Formula Renault championships, achieving significant success by winning the Italian championship in 2004 with eight victories.
Nationality | Venezuelan |
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Born | Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta 9 March 1985 Maracay, Venezuela |
This success earned him his first F1 test for Minardi at Misano at the end of 2004. In 2005, he joined Renault’s Driver Development Programme and competed in the World Series by Renault. However, his season was marred by a nine-race ban after he collided with a marshal during practice at Monaco, resulting in the marshal sustaining a broken back. He returned the following year and finished third in the championship for Draco. In 2007, he moved to GP2 with Trident and won the Monaco round.
In 2008, Maldonado switched to Piquet Sports, finishing fifth in the championship. The following year, he joined top team ART alongside rookie Nico Hulkenberg. Despite winning twice, including the Monaco sprint race, he finished sixth while Hulkenberg won the title. He stayed in GP2 for 2010 with Piquet’s team, now renamed Rapax, and set a series record with six consecutive feature race wins, securing the title and testing opportunities with Williams and HRT. Williams signed him to replace Hulkenberg in 2011.
Williams
In 2011, driving one of Williams’ least competitive cars, Maldonado scored a single point in his first season. He showed promise, especially in qualifying, against experienced teammate Rubens Barrichello, earning a contract extension for 2012.
In 2012, Maldonado’s season started disappointingly when he crashed out of sixth place on the final lap of the 2012 Australian Grand Prix. However, the revised, Renault-engined car showed potential. In Spain, he inherited pole position from a penalised Lewis Hamilton and won his first race after a strategic battle with Fernando Alonso. Despite this breakthrough, he only scored points in one more race that season, marred by multiple collisions and penalties. He showed improved performances in Singapore and Abu Dhabi but ended the year with a crash in Brazil. Williams retained him for 2013.
In 2013, high hopes for the new car were dashed as the team struggled, and Maldonado only scored one point in Hungary. Wheel nut problems further hampered performance. Frustrated, Maldonado ended his contract with Williams and moved to Lotus F1 in 2014.
Lotus F1
Maldonado’s move to Lotus F1 in 2014 coincided with the team’s struggles with Renault’s power unit, leading to a challenging season marked by car issues and mistakes, including a collision with Esteban Gutierrez at Bahrain. His only points finish was at the Circuit of the Americas.
In 2015, with Lotus F1 now using Mercedes power units, the team was more competitive, but financial difficulties overshadowed the season. Maldonado was outperformed by teammate Romain Grosjean, who achieved the team’s only podium. Despite some points finishes, Maldonado’s penalties and the team’s financial woes highlighted his season, with his financial backing being a significant factor in his retention.
Pastor Maldonado Formula One World Championship career
F1 Career | 2011–2015 |
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Teams | Williams, Lotus F1 |
Car number | 13 |
Entries | 96 (95 starts) |
Championships | 0 |
Wins | 1 |
Podiums | 1 |
Career points | 76 |
Pole positions | 1 |
Fastest laps | 0 |
First entry | 2011 Australian Grand Prix |
First win | 2012 Spanish Grand Prix |
Last win | 2012 Spanish Grand Prix |
Last entry | 2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Pastor Maldonado Teammates
7 Teammates | Involvement | First Year | Last Year |
---|---|---|---|
Rubens Barrichello | 19 | 2011 | |
Bruno Senna | 20 | 2012 | |
Valtteri Bottas | 34 | 2012 | 2013 |
Romain Grosjean | 38 | 2014 | 2015 |
Charles Pic | 1 | 2014 | |
Esteban Ocon | 1 | 2014 | |
Jolyon Palmer | 10 | 2015 |
Formula One Record
Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Youth Career | |||||
2005 – 2006 | Renault Driver Development | ||||
Senior Career | |||||
2004 | Minardi Cosworth | Minardi-Ford Cosworth | Test Driver | ||
2005–2009: Did not compete | |||||
2010 | HRT F1 Team | HRT-Cosworth | Test Driver | ||
AT&T Williams | Williams-Cosworth | ||||
2011 | AT&T Williams | Williams-Cosworth | 1 | 19th | Report |
2012 | Williams F1 Team | Williams-Renault | 45 | 15th | Report |
2013 | Williams F1 Team | Williams-Renault | 1 | 18th | Report |
2014 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus-Renault | 2 | 16th | Report |
2015 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus-Mercedes | 27 | 14th | Report |
Race Wins
Win Number | Grand Prix |
---|---|
1 | 2012 Spanish Grand Prix |
Complete Formula One results
Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.
Year | Entrant | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | WDC | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2011 | AT&T Williams | Williams FW33 | Cosworth CA2011 2.4 V8 | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | CHN 18 | TUR 17 | ESP 15 | MON 18 † | CAN Ret | EUR 18 | GBR 14 | GER 14 | HUN 16 | BEL 10 | ITA 11 | SIN 11 | JPN 14 | KOR Ret | IND Ret | ABU 14 | BRA Ret | 19th | 1 | |
2012 | Williams F1 Team | Williams FW34 | Renault RS27-2012 V8 | AUS 13 † | MAL 19 † | CHN 8 | BHR Ret | ESP 1 | MON Ret | CAN 13 | EUR 12 | GBR 16 | GER 15 | HUN 13 | BEL Ret | ITA 11 | SIN Ret | JPN 8 | KOR 14 | IND 16 | ABU 5 | USA 9 | BRA Ret | 15th | 45 |
2013 | Williams F1 Team | Williams FW35 | Renault RS27-2013 V8 | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | CHN 14 | BHR 11 | ESP 14 | MON Ret | CAN 16 | GBR 11 | GER 15 | HUN 10 | BEL 17 | ITA 14 | SIN 11 | KOR 13 | JPN 16 | IND 12 | ABU 11 | USA 17 | BRA 16 | 18th | 1 | |
2014 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus E22 | Renault Energy F1-2014 1.6 V6 t | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | BHR 14 | CHN 14 | ESP 15 | MON DNS | CAN Ret | AUT 12 | GBR 17 † | GER 12 | HUN 13 | BEL Ret | ITA 14 | SIN 12 | JPN 16 | RUS 18 | USA 9 | BRA 12 | ABU Ret | 16th | 2 | |
2015 | Lotus F1 Team | Lotus E23 Hybrid | Mercedes PU106B Hybrid 1.6 V6 t | AUS Ret | MAL Ret | CHN Ret | BHR 15 | ESP Ret | MON Ret | CAN 7 | AUT 7 | GBR Ret | HUN 14 | BEL Ret | ITA Ret | SIN 12 | JPN 8 | RUS 7 | USA 8 | MEX 11 | BRA 10 | ABU Ret | 14th | 27 |
Sources: Wikipedia.com, fandom.com, statsf1.com and racefans.net