PASTOR MALDONADO DRIVER
PASTOR MALDONADO FULL

The crowd were absolutely jubilant as Maldonado took his place on the top step of the podium for the first time in three years.

PASTOR MALDONADO DRIVER

The result was sensational - a Venezuelan driver winning the first Venezuelan Grand Prix. Starting in P5, he masterfully negotiated the increasingly wet conditions to lead home a Williams 1-2. Proving he had lost none of his speed, the Venezuelan qualified three thousandths of a second behind his teammate Sérgio Sette Câmara and despite a collision with Kevin Magnussen at the beginning of the race, Maldonado came through to finish seventh - in front of Câmara - setting the fastest lap of the race to boot.Īt the following race in Venezuela, Maldonado (replacing Câmara this time) would do even better. However, with the Russian invasion of Ukraine, regular driver Robert Shwartzman was unable to drive in the German Grand Prix, meaning Maldonado got the callup a race early.

He opted to sign with Williams as their reserve driver, but negotiated a clause that meant he would get to race at the inaugural Venezuelan Grand Prix.

Sensing that Sauber was increasingly becoming a dead-end performance wise, Maldonado opted to leave the team at the end of the year.ĭespite his efforts, Maldonado was left without a full-time seat. Sauber were completely off the pace and the most Maldonado could muster all year was three solitary tenth place finishes. Maldonado struggled in the early stages of the year but he'd recover with a flurry of podium finishes in the latter half of the year to finish the season in seventh place. Maldonado's title win meant there was a severe lack of investment in the 2020 car which hampered Sauber for the season. Maldonado, along with Dean Stoneman, had the strongest package by far and Maldonado could barely be stopped - taking thirteen wins on his way to his first World Championship. Maldonado continued his winless run for the next two years but it was in 2019 when he finally delivered on his potential. This ended up being his only win of the year, but it seemed that little of his speed had disappeared. Sauber opted to bring Maldonado back to the grid in 2016 and the Venezuelan immediately repaid his team's faith in him by winning the first race of the season. Maldonado's best results would be a pair of second places - including one in the United States 500 on Indianapolis - but he would finish in a lowly 26th position in the championship.

PASTOR MALDONADO FULL

A string of top-10 finishes for Maldonado saw him make the #7 seat his own in 2014, bringing sponsorship from PDVSA.Ģ015 saw Maldonado return to single-seater action again, taking part in a full season in the F1 Rejects Indy Championship Series with the Pole Star Racing Team. With an attempt to join Caterham failing at the last hurdle, Maldonado would head stateside in 2013, taking in the early parts of the Ind圜ar Series with Panther Racing - his best result being a fourteenth place at Long Beach.Īfter struggling with Ind圜ar, Maldonado headed into NASCAR - sharing the #7 Florida Lottery Chevrolet of Tommy Baldwin Racing with regular driver Dave Blaney. Maldonado would finish his sophomore season in third place behind Hamilton and Vettel, but his performances in the latter stages of the season was enough for Sauber to take an unexpected Constructor's crown ahead of Red Bull and McLaren.ĭespite a superb 2012 for Maldonado, Sauber's signing of Robert Kubica from Mercedes meant that there was no place for him in the team. Although Sebastian Vettel and Lewis Hamilton were the major protagonists in the championship, Maldonado would take a real step up in terms of form and snatch seven victories over the course of the season - with many of them coming in the later stages of the season when the Sauber had a upturn in form. Maldonado's impressive form in 2011 saw him switch to Sauber for 2012, with Sergio Pérez heading in the opposite direction. Maldonado would be a regular points scorer all season, his best being a fourth place in Monaco.

3 Complete Formula One World Championship Grand Prix ResultsĪfter a fairly impressive junior career, Maldonado would make his top-tier debut with the works KIA/Hyundai team in their debut season in Formula One - a year after their farcical F1RWRS in 2010.

Pastor maldonado