Pastor Maldonado
Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (born March 9, 1985 in Maracay) is a Venezuelan racing driver. His career so far has been in single-seater Formula racing. He is the 2010 GP2 Champion, and a former champion of Italian Formula Renault. He is currently a driver for the Williams Formula One team. His first F1 race was the 2011 Australian Grand Prix.
 Pastor Maldonado in Malaysia | |
| Born | 9 March 1985 |
|---|---|
| Formula One World Championship career | |
| Nationality | Venezuelan |
| Entries | 11 |
| Championships | 0 |
| Wins | 1 |
| Podiums | 0 |
| Career points | 0 |
| Pole positions | 0 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| First entry | 2011 Australian Grand Prix |
| Last entry | 2024 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix |
Career
change2003
changeMaldonado started formula racing in Italy in 2003. He competed in the Italian Formula Renault Championship. He had three podium finishes and one pole position.[1]
2004
changeIn 2004, Maldonado ran in both the Italian and European Formula Renault series. He won the Italian championship He had eight wins and six pole positions.[2] In the European championship, he finished in eighth position, with two wins.[3] Maldonado also entered one round of the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup at Spa-Francorchamps.[4]
2005
changeIn 2005, Maldonado made four starts in the Italian F3000 Championship. He won one race and finish in ninth place.[5] He also entered nine races (and made seven starts) in the Spanish-based World Series by Renault (WSR). Maldonado only started seven of the races, and his best finish was seventh place.[6]
Maldonado received a four-race ban in the WSR for dangerous driving. He did not slow down at the scene of an accident at Monaco. There were warning flags displayed. He hit and seriously injured a marshal.[7]
2006
changeMaldonado received a full-time drive in the Formula Renault 3.5 Series with Draco Racing in 2006. He was finished in third place. He won three race and finished on the podium six other times. Maldonado had five pole positions.[8][9]
GP2 Series
change
Maldonado signed a contract to drive in GP2 for Trident Racing in 2007.[10] He first win came in his fourth race in the series at Monaco. He missed the final four rounds of the season after breaking a collarbone during training. He finished the season outside the top 10.[11] He has moved to the Piquet Sports team for the 2008 season. He finished in fifth place in the drivers' championship.
Maldonado signed to drive for the ART Grand Prix team for the 2009 season.[12] As part of the deal, he also joined the team for three rounds of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season.[13] He finished sixth overall, helping ART to the teams title.
Maldonado drove for the Rapax Team in the 2010 season. He won the Championship that year.
Formula One
change
In November 2004, Maldonado was given a test with the Minardi Formula One team.[source?] Maldonado was considered for the Campos Meta team (now Hispania Racing) in 2010.[14] Karun Chandhok got the drive with HRT.
After Williams said that Nico Hülkenberg had been dropped from the team's 2011 line-up, Maldonado was announced as his replacement on December 1.[15][16] Maldonado also brings sponsorship from the Venezuelan government to Williams. This is through the state-owned PDVSA oil company.[17]
Politics
changeMaldonado has strong feelings about politics and talks about them openly. This is not very common in the racing world. He says he is a socialist and a friend of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez.[18]
Racing record
changeCareer summary
change| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | GP2 Series | Trident Racing | 12 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 11th |
| 2008 | GP2 Series | Piquet Sports | 20 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 60 | 5th |
| 2008-09 | GP2 Asia Series | ART Grand Prix | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 15th |
| 2009 | GP2 Series | ART Grand Prix | 19 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 6th |
| 2010 | GP2 Series | Rapax Team | 19 | 6 | 0 | 5 | 8 | 87 | 1st |
| 2011 | Formula One | AT&T Williams | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0* | 21st* |
* Season in progress.
Complete GP2 Series results
change(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Trident Racing | BHR FEA DNS |
BHR SPR 16 |
CAT FEA Ret |
CAT SPR 17 |
MON FEA 1 |
MAG FEA 10 |
MAG SPR 8 |
SIL FEA 7 |
SIL SPR 2 |
HOC FEA 6 |
HOC SPR 4 |
HUN FEA Ret |
HUN SPR Ret |
IST FEA |
IST SPR |
MNZ FEA |
MNZ SPR |
SPA FEA |
SPA SPR |
VAL FEA |
VAL SPR |
11th | 25 |
| 2008 | Piquet Sports | CAT FEA 12 |
CAT SPR Ret |
IST FEA Ret |
IST SPR Ret |
MON FEA 2 |
MON SPR Ret |
MAG FEA 3 |
MAG SPR 7 |
SIL FEA Ret |
SIL SPR 15 |
HOC FEA 6 |
HOC SPR 17 |
HUN FEA 5 |
HUN SPR 18 |
VAL FEA 2 |
VAL SPR Ret |
SPA FEA 3 |
SPA SPR 1 |
MNZ FEA 2 |
MNZ SPR 4 |
5th | 60 | |
| 2009 | ART Grand Prix | CAT FEA 5 |
CAT SPR 6 |
MON FEA 8 |
MON SPR 1 |
IST FEA 6 |
IST SPR 5 |
SIL FEA 7 |
SIL SPR 1 |
NÜR FEA Ret |
NÜR SPR 9 |
HUN FEA 4 |
HUN SPR Ret |
VAL FEA DSQ |
VAL SPR 8 |
SPA FEA 4 |
SPA SPR Ret |
MNZ FEA Ret |
MNZ SPR 15 |
ALG FEA 11 |
ALG SPR 20 |
6th | 36 | |
| 2010 | Rapax Team | CAT FEA 6 |
CAT SPR 3 |
MON FEA 2 |
MON SPR 11 |
IST FEA 1 |
IST SPR 6 |
VAL FEA 1 |
VAL SPR 4 |
SIL FEA 1 |
SIL SPR 4 |
HOC FEA 1 |
HOC SPR 20 |
HUN FEA 1 |
HUN SPR DSQ |
SPA FEA 1 |
SPA SPR Ret |
MNZ FEA Ret |
MNZ SPR Ret |
YMC FEA 17 |
YMC SPR 9 |
1st | 87 |
Complete GP2 Asia Series results
change(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008–09 | ART Grand Prix | CHN FEA |
CHN SPR |
ABU FEA Ret |
ABU SPR C |
BHR1 FEA |
BHR1 SPR |
QAT FEA |
QAT SPR |
MYS FEA 7 |
MYS SPR 2 |
BHR2 FEA Ret |
BHR2 SPR Ret |
15th | 7 |
Complete Formula One results
change(key) (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 L V8 | AUS Ret |
MAL Ret |
CHN 18 |
TUR 17 |
ESP 15 |
MON 18† |
CAN Ret |
EUR 18 |
GBR 14 |
GER 14 |
HUN 16 |
BEL | ITA | SIN | JPN | KOR | IND | ABU | BRA | 21st* | 0* |
* Season in progress.
† Driver did not finish the Grand Prix. Driver was classified (ranked) because they finished over 90% of the race.
References
change- ↑ "Italian Formula Renault Championship, 2003". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket.
- ↑ "2004 Participations". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket.
- ↑ "2004 European Formula Renault standings". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket.
- ↑ "2004 Participations". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket.
- ↑ "2005 F3000 Participations". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket.
- ↑ "2005 WSR Participations". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket.
- ↑ "Maldonado handed ban after crash". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC. 2005-05-25. Archived from the original on 2008-04-12. Retrieved 2011-02-18.
- ↑ "WSR 2006 Drivers' Championship". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ↑ "WSR 2006 Drivers' Championship". forix.autosport.com. Haymarket. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ↑ Freeman, Glenn (2007-02-01). "Maldonado confirmed at Trident". autosport.com. Haymarket. Retrieved 2007-02-01.
- ↑ "Injury forces Maldonado out". crash.net. 2007-08-19. Retrieved 2007-08-19.
- ↑ "Maldonado to race for ART in 2009". autosport.com. 2008-11-10. Retrieved 2008-11-11.
- ↑ "Driver changes aplenty in Dubai". crash.net. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-04.
- ↑ "Guardian Unlimited: Bruno Senna wins 2010 Formula One drive with new Campos Meta team" (NewsBank). Financial Times Information Limited. England: Guardian Newspapers Ltd. 2009-11-11. Retrieved 2011-02-19.
- ↑ Benson, Andrew (2010-11-15). "Williams keep Rubens Barrichello but drop Nico Hulkenberg". news.bbc.co.uk. BBC Sport. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ↑ "Q&A with Williams' Pastor Maldonado". formula1.com. Formula One Administration. 2010-12-01. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ↑ "Maldonado secures government backing". crash.net. Crash Media Group. 2010-12-09. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
- ↑ Ore, Diego (2010-12-17). "Venezuela F1 driver flies flag for socialist Chavez". ca.reuters.com. Reuters. Archived from the original on 2012-03-14. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
Other websites
change
- Official site Archived 2010-11-03 at the Wayback Machine
- Pastor Maldonado in Twitter