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. 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, promoting Maldonado to his first ever F1 Pole position. Maldonado, on the other hand was outstanding, setting the fastest time in Q2, and being beaten only by Lewis Hamilton in Q3. In qualifying, team-mate Senna struggled and failed to make it past Q1. They also brought a lot of unexpected performance to the event, looking very strong in practice. Williams then went to Spain celebrating the 70th birthday of team boss Sir Frank Williams. Never reached a top ten place before retiring on the 25th lap due to a puncture. 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. He finished 8th, scoring 4 World Championship points.īahrain was an unfortunate race during which Maldonado faced a grid penalty, setting him back to 21st on the grid. Maldonado's luck changed for the better in China, where another good showing saw him bring home his first points finish of the season. Unfortunately, his luck failed him again, and he was forced to retire on the penultimate lap with engine failure. Having qualifying 11th, Maldonado found himself in contention for a place in the top ten. In Malaysia, Pastor's pace was good again in treacherous conditions. However, after good battles over the lesser points places, Maldonado lost control and crashed on the final lap while fighting for 5th. In Australia, he had been running in the points following a good showing in qualifying, placing him 8th on the grid. Maldonado's 2012 season looked very promising following strong races in Melbourne and Sepang. However, this proved to be the only point in his debut season. Maldonado scored the first point of his career in the Belgian GP, finishing tenth. At Valencia, Maldonado still failed to score, finishing 18th, as his streak of bad results continued. In Canada, Maldonado spun out of the race, forcing him to retire. This marked the start of a rivalry between Hamilton and Maldonado. Maldonado was still classified 18th in the standings, and teammate Barrichello finished 9th, giving the Williams team their first points of the season, however a potential double-points finish for the Wantage-based team was prevented. 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. He finished in a much better position in Spain, in 15th. China saw his first classified finish, 18th in the race. He also retired in Malaysia when an engine failure ended his race. In his first race at Australia, Maldonado was the first retirement all year because of transmission problems. #PASTOR MALDONADO DRIVER#Whilst Maldonado was making his debut, Barrichello was the most experienced driver and in his 19th season of Formula One. 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. He became the first Formula One driver to score with the number at the 2014 United States Grand Prix.įormula 1 Career Williams 2011 The win was Maldonado's first ever, and Williams' first win since the 2004 Brazilian Grand Prix.Īfter a disappointing 2013 season in which the Venezuelan scored only a single point, he joined Romain Grosjean at Lotus for 2014, with his supposed permanent car number being #3, but later switched to #13, breaking Formula One tradition, and was only the third ever Formula One driver to use number 13, after Moises Solana in 1963 and Divina Galica in 1976. 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.Īt the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix, four weeks after the 70th birthday of team boss, Sir Frank Williams, Maldonado secured a surprising victory from pole position. Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta (born 9 March 1985 in Maracay, Venezuela) is a Formula One driver who formerly drove for Lotus alongside Romain Grosjean.
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