Pastor Maldonado facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Maldonado and the second or maternal family name is Motta.

Quick facts for kids Pastor Maldonado
Maldonado at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix
Born	Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (1985-03-09) 9 March 1985 (age 40) Maracay, Aragua, Venezuela
Spouse(s)	Gabriele Tarkany (m. 2012)
Children	2

Formula One World Championship career
Nationality	Venezuelan
Active years	2011–2015
Teams	Williams, Lotus
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 entry	2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix


FIA World Endurance Championship career
Years active	2018–19
Teams	DragonSpeed
Starts	8
Championships	0
Wins	1
Podiums	4
Poles	2
Fastest laps	1
Best finish	3rd in 2018–19 (LMP2)


24 Hours of Le Mans career
Years	2018–2019
Teams	DragonSpeed
Best finish	9th (2018)
Class wins	0

Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (born March 9, 1985) is a former racing driver from Venezuela. He competed in Formula One from 2011 to 2015. Maldonado is famous for winning the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix with the Williams team.

Before joining Formula One, he won the GP2 Series championship in 2010. After his time in F1, he became a test driver for Pirelli. Later, he returned to racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2018. He also won a class title at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019.

Early Life and First Races

Pastor Maldonado was born in Maracay, Venezuela, on March 9, 1985. He loved racing from a young age. He enjoyed watching his uncles race go-karts. When he was four, he started BMX racing and even won a national championship.

Starting in Karting

In 1992, Maldonado visited a karting track and was amazed by the karts. He convinced his father to let him try one. A year later, he started competing in karting championships. He raced against older kids because there wasn't a category for his age.

Moving to Formula Racing

Maldonado first raced in formula racing in Italy in 2003. He competed in the Italian Formula Renault Championship. He finished seventh overall, with three podium finishes and one pole position.

In 2004, he raced in both Italian and Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup series. He won the Italian title with eight wins. He also won two races in the European championship. In November 2004, Maldonado got to test a Minardi Formula One car in Italy.

Racing in Italian F3000

In 2005, Maldonado moved up to Italian F3000. He won one race at the Autodromo dell'Umbria. However, he was banned for four races in another series for dangerous driving. This happened when he didn't slow down after an accident and hit a marshal.

Competing in Formula Renault 3.5

In 2006, Maldonado joined the Formula Renault 3.5 Series. He finished third overall. He won three races and had five pole positions. He could have won the title, but he was disqualified from a race due to a technical issue.

Success in GP2 Series

Maldonado's strong performance led him to the GP2 Series in 2007. He won his first GP2 race in Monaco. But he missed the last four races due to a broken collarbone.

In 2008, he moved to the Piquet Sports team. He had two pole positions and finished on the podium six times. He won a race at Spa. He finished fifth in the championship.

Maldonado driving for ART Grand Prix at the Turkish round of the 2009 GP2 Series season.

For the 2009 season, he joined ART Grand Prix. He finished sixth overall and helped his team win the championship. He also won a race in the 2009 Euroseries 3000 to gain track experience.

In 2010, Maldonado drove for the Rapax Team. He won the championship in the second-to-last race at Monza. He won six races in a row, which is a record for GP2. He finished 16 points ahead of Sergio Pérez.

Formula One Career

Maldonado was considered for a Campos Meta seat in 2010. But the team's financial problems changed things. He then tested for Williams and Hispania Racing. On December 1, 2010, Williams announced he would join their team for 2011. He also brought sponsorship from the Venezuelan government.

Driving for Williams (2011–2013)

2011 Season

Maldonado driving for Williams at the 2011 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Maldonado retired from his first race in Australia. He finished his first race in China, in 18th place. At the 2011 Spanish Grand Prix, he reached the final qualifying session for the first time. In Monaco, he was running well but crashed with Lewis Hamilton. He scored his first Formula One point at the 2011 Belgian Grand Prix, finishing tenth. He ended the season 19th in the Drivers' Championship.

2012 Season

Maldonado driving for Williams at the 2012 Malaysian Grand Prix.

Maldonado started the 2012 season with good speed. He qualified eighth in Australia but crashed on the last lap. He scored his first points of the season in China, finishing eighth.

At the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, Maldonado qualified second. He was later moved to pole position after Lewis Hamilton was penalized. Maldonado then won the race, becoming the first Venezuelan driver to win a Grand Prix. He is the last Williams driver to win a race as of 2023. After the race, a fire broke out in the Williams pit, and Maldonado helped carry his cousin to safety.

Maldonado crashes his car at the 2012 Monaco Grand Prix.

In Monaco, he started last due to penalties and crashed at the start. In Europe, he was battling Lewis Hamilton for third place but they collided. Maldonado finished tenth, but a penalty dropped him to twelfth. In Britain, he collided with Sergio Pérez. Maldonado finished 15th in the championship with 45 points. He received many penalties throughout the season.

2013 Season

Maldonado stayed with Williams for the 2013 season. He said the new car was a step backward. He retired from the first two races. At the 2013 Monaco Grand Prix, he collided with another driver, causing a red flag. He finished the season with only one point.

Joining Lotus (2014–2015)

2014 Season

Maldonado at the 2014 Singapore Grand Prix.

In 2014, Maldonado moved to the Lotus F1 team. He chose car number 13, which is rarely used in Formula One. At the 2014 Bahrain Grand Prix, he collided with Esteban Gutiérrez, causing Gutiérrez's car to roll. Maldonado received penalties for this. He also had several other incidents during practice and races throughout the season. He scored his only points of the season in the 2014 United States Grand Prix, finishing ninth. He finished 16th in the Drivers' Championship.

2015 Season

Maldonado at the 2015 British Grand Prix.

Maldonado continued with Lotus in 2015. He had a brake failure during testing. In the first race in Australia, he crashed out on the first lap. He had several more incidents and retirements throughout the season. He finished seventh in Canada and Austria. At the 2015 British Grand Prix, he was involved in a collision with his teammate.

At the 2015 Singapore Grand Prix, he collided with Jenson Button. Button commented that Maldonado was "mental." Despite this, Lotus confirmed Maldonado would drive for them in 2016. He finished the season with 27 points and 14th place in the championship. His contract was later ended due to issues with his sponsor, and he was replaced by Kevin Magnussen.

Pirelli Test Driver

In 2017, Maldonado became a test driver for Pirelli. He helped develop new tires for the season by testing a GP2 car.

Other Racing Ventures

Maldonado tried to return to Formula One with Sauber Motorsport after Nico Rosberg retired, but no deal was made. He also explored racing in IndyCar but did not reach an agreement.

World Endurance Championship and 24 Hours of Daytona

Maldonado driving in the 2018 6 Hours of Silverstone.

In 2018, DragonSpeed announced that Maldonado would race in the FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMP2 category. He finished third in his category in the championship. Pastor also won the LMP2 category at the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona with DragonSpeed.

Racing Achievements

Season	Series	Team	Races	Wins	Poles	F/Laps	Podiums	Points	Position
2003	Formula Renault 2.0 Italy	Cram Competition	12	0	1	1	3	118	7th
	Formula Renault 2000 Masters		8	0	0	0	0	0	28th
	Formula Renault 2.0 Germany		2	0	0	0	0	3	43rd
	Formula Renault 2.0 Italy Winter Cup		?	?	?	?	?	?	1st
2004	Formula Renault 2.0 Italy	Cram Competition	17	8	6	11	12	326	1st
	Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup		15	2	0	1	3	134	8th
	Formula Renault V6 Eurocup		2	0	0	0	0	12	21st
	Formula One	Minardi F1 Team	Test driver
2005	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	DAMS	8	0	0	0	0	4	25th
2005	Italian Formula 3000	Sighinolfi Auto Racing	4	1	1	1	1	14	9th
2006	Formula Renault 3.5 Series	Draco Racing	17	3	5	6	5	103	3rd
2007	GP2 Series	Trident Racing	13	1	1	0	2	25	11th
	Euroseries 3000	G-Tec	2	1	1	1	1	12	10th
	Formula 3000 Italy	G-Tec	2	1	1	1	1	12	8th
2008	GP2 Series	Piquet Sports	20	1	2	4	6	60	5th
	International GT Open – GTS	Scuderia Latorre	2	0	0	0	1	8	22nd
	Euroseries 3000	GP Racing	1	1	0	1	1	11	12th
	International GT Open	Scuderia Latorre	?	?	?	?	?	18	32nd
2008–09	GP2 Asia Series	ART Grand Prix	5	0	0	0	1	7	15th
2009	GP2 Series	ART Grand Prix	20	2	0	1	2	36	6th
2009	Euroseries 3000	Teamcraft Motorsport	2	1	0	0	1	10	10th
2010	GP2 Series	Rapax Team	20	6	0	5	8	87	1st
2010	Formula One	Hispania Racing F1 Team	Test driver
2011	Formula One	AT&T Williams	19	0	0	0	0	1	18th
2012	Formula One	Williams F1 Team	20	1	1	0	1	45	15th
2013	Formula One	Williams F1 Team	19	0	0	0	0	1	18th
2014	Formula One	Lotus F1 Team	19	0	0	0	0	2	16th
2015	Formula One	Lotus F1 Team	19	0	0	0	0	27	14th
2016	Formula One	Pirelli	Test driver
2017	Formula One	Pirelli	Test driver
2018	24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2	DragonSpeed	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	5th
2018–19	FIA World Endurance Championship - LMP2	DragonSpeed	8	1	2	1	4	117	3rd
2019	IMSA SportsCar Championship - LMP2	DragonSpeed	1	1	0	0	1	35	8th
2019	24 Hours of Le Mans - LMP2	DragonSpeed	1	0	0	0	0	N/A	DNF
Sources:

Personal Life

Maldonado is open about his political views, which is unusual for a racing driver. He considers himself a socialist. He was a friend of the former Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez. Maldonado was one of the people who stood guard at Chávez's funeral.

Pastor Maldonado married Venezuelan journalist Gabriela Tarkanyi on December 15, 2012. They have two daughters, born in September 2013 and November 2017.