Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (born March 10, 1985 in Maracay, Venezuela[1]) is a Formula One driver currently driving for Williams-Renault alongside Bruno Senna. Maldonado made his F1 debut at the 2011 Australian Grand Prix driving for Williams, becoming the first Venezuelan driver in Formula One since Johnny Cecotto in 1984.
At the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, on the 70th birthday of team boss, Sir Frank Williams, Maldonado secured a surprising victory from pole position. The win was Maldonado's first ever, and Williams' first win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix.
Although currently without a contract for the 2013 season, Maldonado has expressed interest in staying with Williams.
2011 season
In December 2010, it was announced that Maldonado would drive for the Williams team in 2011 alongside Rubens Barrichello, replacing Nico Hülkenberg, who was moving to Force India as a test driver. In his first race at Australia, Maldonado was the first retirement of the year because of transmission problems. He also retired in Malaysia when an engine failure ended his race. China was his first classified finish, although he finished 18th in the standings, way outside the points. In Turkey, Maldonado failed to score points again, finishing 17th. He finished in a much better position in Spain, in 15th, but again scored no points. In Monaco, Maldonado was running in sixth place with five laps remaining, and on course for his first points, when Lewis Hamilton took him out of the race at the Sainte Dévote corner. Maldonado was still classified 18th in the standings, and team-mate Barrichello finished 9th, giving the Williams team their first points of the season. In Canada, Maldonado spun out of the race and into retirement. At Valencia, Maldonado still failed to score, finishing 18th.
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2012 season
Maldonado's 2012 season looked very promising following strong races in Melbourne and Sepang. In Australia, he had been running in the points following a good showing in qualifying, placing him 8th on the grid. However, after good battles over the lesser points places, Maldonado lost control and crashed on the final lap while fighting for 5th.
In Malaysia, Pastor's pace was good again in treacherous conditions. Having qualifying 11th, Maldonado found himself in contention for a place in the top ten. Unfortunately, his luck failed him again, and he was forced to retire on the penultimate lap with engine failure. He had been running 10th.
Maldonado's luck changed for the better in China, where another good showing saw him bring home his first points finish of the season. He finished 8th, scoring 4 World Championship points.
Bahrain was an unfortunate race during which Maldonado faced a grid penalty, setting him back to 21st on the grid. Following a good start at which he gained 5 places, Maldonado found himself battling the likes of Sergio Pérez and Paul di Resta for the midfield places. Never reached a top ten place before retiring on the 25th lap due to a puncture.
Williams then went to Spain celebrating the 70th birthday of team boss Sir Frank Williams. They also brought a lot of unexpected performance to the event, looking very strong in Practice. In qualifying, team-mate Senna struggled and failed to make it past Q1. Maldonado, on the other hand was outstanding, setting the fastest time in Q2, and being beaten only by Lewis Hamilton in Q3. Maldonado was delighted at second place in qualifying, and his happiness was amplified a few hours later when Lewis Hamilton was disqualified from qualifying as he had stopped on track on his in-lap,[2] promoting Maldonado to his first ever F1 Pole position. In the race, Maldonado put on an impressive display, fighting off Fernando Alonso for most of the race, to claim his maiden race victory, Williams' first in more than 7 years.
Formula One Statistical Overview
Formula One Record
| Year | Entrant | Team | WDC Points | WDC Pos. | Report |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Template:Career Results/Points | Template:Career Results/Position/reverse | Report |
Statistics
Template:Statbox
Race Wins
| Win Number | Grand Prix |
|---|---|
| 1 | 2012 Spanish Grand Prix |
Career Results
Template:Career Results/Current| Complete Formula One Results | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Year | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pts | Pos |
| 2011 | 
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1 | 19th | ||||
| C | Ret | Ret | 18th | 17th | 15th | 18th [3] |
Ret | 18th | 14th | 14th | 16th | 10th | 11th | 11th | 14th | Ret | Ret | 14th | Ret | |||||||
| 2012 |
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45 | 15th | ||||
| 13th [3] |
19th [3] |
8th | Ret | 1st | Ret | 13th | 12th | 16th | 15th | 13th | Ret | 11th | Ret | 8th | 14th | 16th | 5th | 9th | Ret | |||||||
| Key | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Meaning | Symbol | Meaning | ||
| 1st | Winner | Ret | Retired | ||
| 2nd | Podium finish | DSQ | Disqualified | ||
| 3rd | DNQ | Did not qualify | |||
| 5th | Points finish | DNPQ | Did not pre-qualify | ||
| 14th | Non-points finish | TD | Test driver | ||
| Italics | Scored point(s) for Fastest Lap | DNS | Did not start | ||
| 18th† | Classified finish (retired with >90% race distance) | NC | Non-classified finish (<90% race distance) | ||
| 4thP | Qualified for pole position | [+] More Symbols | |||
Notes
- ↑ "Pastor Maldonado – Biografía" (in Spanish). http://www.pastormaldonado.com/modules.php?name=Pastor&padre=apastor. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
- ↑ Article 6.6.2 of the FIA Formula One Technical Regulations:
Competitors must ensure that a one litre sample of fuel may be taken from the car at any time during the Event. Except in cases of force majeure (accepted as such by the stewards of the meeting), if a sample of fuel is required after a practice session the car concerned must have first been driven back to the pits under its own power. ([1]) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed over 90% of race distance
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