{"id":30574,"date":"2020-12-05T23:28:55","date_gmt":"2020-12-05T23:28:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/"},"modified":"2023-11-07T14:15:45","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T14:15:45","slug":"pastor-maldonado","status":"publish","type":"driver","link":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastor Maldonado"},"content":{"rendered":"    \n<section class=\"hero hero--small-image\">\n    \n            \n<section class=\"c-site-breadcrumbs site-breadcrumbs proxima \">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n        <nav class=\"breadcrumbs\"><span><span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/\">Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/nav>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n    \n    <div class=\"hero__content\">\n        <div class=\"container\">\n                            <div class=\"circular-image\">\n                                            <picture>\n            <source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"\" >\n            <img decoding=\"async\" height=\"200\" width=\"200\" alt=\"_r6t7023\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023-200x200.jpg\" srcset=\"\"  loading=\"lazy\"  \/>\n        <\/picture>\n                                    <\/div>\n                        <h1 class=\"hero__title sanomat\"><\/h1>\n                                <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n<section class=\"anchor-menu container-no-breakpoints proxima\">\n    <ul>\n                    <li><a href=\"#biography\" data-behaviour=\"scroll-to\">Biography<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li><a href=\"#championship-seasons\" data-behaviour=\"scroll-to\">Championship Seasons<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li><a href=\"#non-championship-races\" data-behaviour=\"scroll-to\">Non-Championship Races<\/a><\/li>\n                    <li><a href=\"#teams\" data-behaviour=\"scroll-to\">Teams<\/a><\/li>\n            <\/ul>\n<\/section>\n\n<div class=\"container\" id=\"biography\">\n            <div class=\"post__item\">\n                <div class=\"js-react\" data-behaviour=\"driver-data-box\" data-driver-id=\"30574\"><\/div>\n                <\/div>\n        <aside class=\"sidebar\" data-target=\"ad-container\">\n            <aside class=\"broadcast-space \">\n            <div class=\"broadcast-space__element\" id=\"div-gpt-ad-1563288058060-3\" data-behaviour=\"ad-target\"><\/div>\n    <\/aside>\n        <\/aside>\n    <\/div>\n\n<div class=\"container\" id=\"full-biography\">\n    \n                    <section class=\"c-gallery gallery content-section\">\n    <div class=\"container user-content\">\n        <div class=\"image-gallery\">\n                        <div class=\"tns-default\">\n                <div data-behaviour=\"simple-slider\">\n                                            <div class=\"image-gallery__item\">\n                                                    <\/div>\n                                    <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>\n        \n        <section class=\"c-expanding-content expanding-content expanding-content--expandable content-section content-section--no-padding-top toggle\">\n            <p>Pastor Maldonado is a former GP2 Series champion who also won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix. That surprising if fully deserved Barcelona victory apart, much of his single-seater career was marred by controversy and contact with others. Having lost his place on the Formula 1 grid, Maldonado eventually returned in the World Endurance Championship.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Early racing career \u2013 success and controversy<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The son of an amateur racing driver, Maldonado graduated from karts to Italian Formula Renault 2.0 in 2003 with Cram Motorsport. He won the winter series at the end of the year and remained with the team to add the Italian title a year later \u2013 winning eight times in a field that included Kamui Kobayashi, Luca Filippi and Davide Valsecchi. He also won the opening two rounds of that year\u2019s Eurocup at Monza but faded to eighth overall. 2004 ended with Maldonado testing a Minardi PS04B-Cosworth at Misano.<\/p>\n<p>Now a Renault junior driver, the Venezuelan joined DAMS for the 2005 Formula Renault 3.5 season. However, that proved to be a controversial campaign and he was banned for four race weekends following an incident at Monaco. He ignored yellow flags waved at Massenet during Thursday practice and struck a marshal who was tending to Patrick Pilet\u2019s crashed car. Rather than remain inactive during his enforced absence, Maldonado drove a Sighinolfi Autoracing Lola B2\/50-Zytek in four Italian Formula 3000 races \u2013 winning at Magione.<\/p>\n<p>Maldonado moved to Draco Multiracing USA for the 2006 F.Renault 3.5 season despite having lost the French manufacturer\u2019s backing in the wake of his Monaco incident. It was a far more satisfying campaign and he returned to winning ways around the streets of the Principality. He won another three rounds on the road although his car failed scrutineering after winning at Misano. Draco protested unsuccessfully and rather than win another title, Maldonado was eventually relegated to third in the final points.<\/p>\n<p><strong>GP2 \u2013 title success, eventually<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>With ample sponsorship from state owned Venezuelan oil company PDVSA, he joined Trident Racing for his GP2 debut in 2007. Off the pace during the opening two race weekends, he converted a surprise pole position into another victory at Monte Carlo. He also finished second in the Silverstone sprint race but missed the Hungarian rounds while recovering from breaking his collarbone while cycling.<\/p>\n<p>Maldonado joined Piquet Sports for 2008 and began the year from pole position in Spain. He repeated that feat at Monaco \u2013 coming second in what was the first of six podium finishes. Fifth in the championship, his personal highlight came at Spa-Francorchamps where Maldonado passed J\u00e9r\u00f4me d\u2019Ambrosio on the last lap to win the sprint race.<\/p>\n<p>Now in his third GP2 season, much was expected of Maldonado in 2009. He moved to the crack ART Grand Prix and won the Monaco and Silverstone sprint races. However, he crashed too often and while team-mate Nico H\u00fclkenberg won the championship, Maldonado was an overshadowed sixth at the end of the year.<\/p>\n<p>With Nelson Piquet no longer involved, Maldonado returned to the now renamed Rapax team for his must-win 2010 GP2 campaign and he did not disappoint. Second at Monaco once more, he won the next six feature races to secure a deserved championship at the fourth attempt. Formula 1 was next and Maldonado impressed while testing for both HRT and Williams during the post-season Abu Dhabi young driver tests.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Formula 1 \u2013 an unexpected victory<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He replaced H\u00fclkenberg at Williams for the 2011 F1 season with his substantial sponsorship fund certainly a factor. There were moments of promise \u2013 most notably running sixth at Monaco before Lewis Hamilton crashed into him at Ste Devote \u2013 but tenth at Spa-Francorchamps provided the only point of Maldonado\u2019s difficult debut campaign.<\/p>\n<p>He was challenging Fernando Alonso for a fine fifth-place in the 2012 Australian GP when he lost control of his Williams FW34-Renault on the final lap \u2013 just one of a number of accidents that punctuated his second season with Williams. He held it together for one glorious Sunday afternoon to deliver the team its first win in eight years. Maldonado qualified on pole position for the Spanish GP and withstood Alonso\u2019s intense late pressure to score a shock maiden F1 victory. However, even that day held more drama for the team\u2019s pit garage was engulfed in flames as they celebrated.<\/p>\n<p>Rather than build on his moments of promise so far Maldonado endured a frustrating final season with Williams in 2013. Unhappy with the new FW35, he finished tenth in Hungary to score his only championship point of an increasingly dispiriting year.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The Lotus years<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>F1 introduced new permanent car numbers from 2014 and Maldonado ignored convention by choosing the previously unlucky number 13. More importantly, he took his much welcome PDVSA money to the cash strapped Lotus team that year. Unfortunately, the Enstone concern had lost key technical staff and, while Williams proved resurgent, Maldonado and team-mate Romain Grosjean struggled in the lower reaches of the field \u2013 the Venezuelan finishing no higher than 12th all year.<\/p>\n<p>The team switched to Mercedes-Benz engines for 2015 but it was the Canadian GP before Maldonado scored points. He qualified sixth in Montr\u00e9al before finishing seventh and matched that result two weeks later in Austria and again in Russia. Lotus owners Genii Capital sold the team to Renault at the end of the season and Maldonado was initially announced as its lead driver for 2016. However, he was replaced by Kevin Magnussen on the eve of the campaign and did not race for the next three years, spending time as Pirelli\u2019s tyre test driver.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Endurance racing return<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>He returned in the 2018\/19 World Endurance Championship when sharing DragonSpeed\u2019s LMP2 ORECA 07-Gibson with Roberto Gonz\u00e1lez and Nathanael Berthon. Berthon had been replaced by Anthony Davidson when the finished second in class in Shanghai and won at Spa-Francorchamps in May 2019. DragonSpeed also entered that year\u2019s Daytona 24 Hours with Maldonado and Gonz\u00e1lez joined by Sebasti\u00e9n Saavedra and Ryan Cullen. They recovered from Cullen\u2019s off-track excusion to inherit the class victory when its sister-car suffered suspension issues 45 minutes before the race was red-flagged.<\/p>\n\n                            <div class=\"expanding-content__buttons\">\n                                            <a href=\"#\" class=\"button button--outline button--chevron-down expanding-content__more\" data-behaviour=\"toggle\">Read full bio<\/a>\n                        <a href=\"#\" class=\"button button--outline button--chevron-up expanding-content__less\" data-behaviour=\"toggle\">Read Less<\/a>\n                                    <\/div>\n                    <\/section>\n\n                                \n   <\/div>\n\n<section class=\"content-section content-section--no-padding-bottom database-table-collapsible toggle open\" id=\"championship-seasons\">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n        <div class=\"js-react\" data-behaviour=\"driver-seasons-table\" data-driver-id=\"\"><\/div>            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"content-section content-section--no-padding database-table-collapsible toggle open\" id=\"non-championship-races\">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n        \n<header class=\"content-header content-header--alt\">\n\n    <h2 class=\"content-header__small-title sanomat u-bold \">\n                Non Championship Races\n    <\/h2>\n\n    <div class=\"content-header__dropdown database-table-collapsible__toggles proxima\">\n        <a href=\"#\" class=\"database-table-collapsible__more\" data-behaviour=\"toggle\">Show<\/a>\n        <a href=\"#\" class=\"database-table-collapsible__less\" data-behaviour=\"toggle\">Hide<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/header><div class=\"js-react\" data-behaviour=\"driver-races-table\" data-driver-id=\"\"><\/div>            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"content-section content-section--no-padding database-table-collapsible toggle open\" id=\"teams\">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n        \n<header class=\"content-header content-header--alt\">\n\n    <h2 class=\"content-header__small-title sanomat u-bold \">\n                Teams\n    <\/h2>\n\n    <div class=\"content-header__dropdown database-table-collapsible__toggles proxima\">\n        <a href=\"#\" class=\"database-table-collapsible__more\" data-behaviour=\"toggle\">Show<\/a>\n        <a href=\"#\" class=\"database-table-collapsible__less\" data-behaviour=\"toggle\">Hide<\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/header><div class=\"js-react\" data-behaviour=\"driver-teams-table\" data-driver-id=\"\"><\/div>            <\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\n                            <section class=\"c-broadcast-space content-section block_5fc172d85c387_leaderboardtop div-gpt-ad-1563288058060-1\" data-target=\"ad-container\">\n            <div class=\"container container--full-mobile\">\n                <aside class=\"broadcast-space \">\n            <div class=\"broadcast-space__element\" id=\"div-gpt-ad-1563288058060-1\" data-behaviour=\"ad-target\"><\/div>\n    <\/aside>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/section>\n    \n\n    <section\n        class=\"c-latest-products latest-products content-section\"\n        data-behaviour=\"tag-automation\"\n        data-automation-type=\"related-products\"\n        data-tags=\"[&quot;Pastor Maldonado&quot;]\"\n        data-current-post=\"30574\"><\/section>\n\n\n        <section class=\"c-article-listing article-listing content-section\">\n        <div class=\"container\">\n            <header class=\"content-header\">\n    <div class=\"content-header__intro user-content\">\n        <h1 class=\"content-header__title sanomat\">Related articles<\/h1>\n            <\/div>\n            <div class=\"content-header__button\">\n            <a class=\"button button--outline button--full\"\n               href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\">\n                View all\n            <\/a>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/header>\n        <\/div>\n        <div class=\"content-section__inner-content container\">\n            <div class=\"article-grid article-grid--no-ads\">\n                <div class=\"article-grid__wrapper\">\n                    <div class=\"article-grid__nested-grid\">\n                        <div class=\"article-grid__column\">\n                                                            \n\t\n\n<article class=\"article-item \">\n\n\t\n\t\t<a class=\"article-item__link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/motorcycles\/motogp\/alex-marquez-dances-at-jerez-will-marc-ever-dance-again\/\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__image article-item__image--cropped\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<picture>\n            <source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RD4_Jerez_2026-01919-450x253.jpg.webp 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" height=\"253\" width=\"450\" alt=\"Alex M\u00e1rquez dances at Jerez, will Marc ever dance again?\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RD4_Jerez_2026-01919-450x253.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/RD4_Jerez_2026-01919-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>\n        <\/picture>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__row proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__tag tag tag--group\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>MotoGP<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-item__title article-item__title--cropped sanomat\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAlex M\u00e1rquez dances at Jerez, will Marc ever dance again?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__excerpt\" data-cf-ignore>\n\t\t\t\t<p>Ducati closed the gap to Aprilia at Jerez, while the reigning MotoGP champion crashed out once again, battering his right shoulder and his championship hopes<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__meta proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"article-item__date\" datetime=\"2026-04-27\">27th April 2026<\/time>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__author\">By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tMat Oxley<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>                                                                                            \n\t\n\n<article class=\"article-item \">\n\n\t\n\t\t<a class=\"article-item__link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/why-f1-rule-fixes-might-not-be-equal-for-everyone\/\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__image article-item__image--cropped\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<picture>\n            <source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260329F1-0273-450x253.jpg.webp 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" height=\"253\" width=\"450\" alt=\"Bad news for Honda? Why F1 rule fixes could penalise some teams\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260329F1-0273-450x253.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/20260329F1-0273-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>\n        <\/picture>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__row proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__tag tag tag--group\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>F1<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-item__title article-item__title--cropped sanomat\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBad news for Honda? Why F1 rule fixes could penalise some teams\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__excerpt\" data-cf-ignore>\n\t\t\t\t<p>The regulation tweaks agreed for Miami may make things worse for some manufacturers<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__meta proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"article-item__date\" datetime=\"2026-04-27\">27th April 2026<\/time>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__author\">By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPablo Elizalde<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>                                                                                            \n\t\n\n<article class=\"article-item \">\n\n\t\n\t\t<a class=\"article-item__link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/it-could-be-years-until-f1-drivers-fully-push-to-the-limit-again-says-mclaren-boss-stella\/\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__image article-item__image--cropped\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<picture>\n            <source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Andrea-Stella-portrait-450x253.jpg.webp 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" height=\"253\" width=\"450\" alt=\"It could be years until F1 drivers fully push to the limit again, says McLaren boss Stella\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Andrea-Stella-portrait-450x253.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Andrea-Stella-portrait-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>\n        <\/picture>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__row proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__tag tag tag--group\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>F1<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-item__title article-item__title--cropped sanomat\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIt could be years until F1 drivers fully push to the limit again, says McLaren boss Stella\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__excerpt\" data-cf-ignore>\n\t\t\t\t<p>F1&#8217;s regulation changes for the Miami Grand Prix may just be the start of rule-wrangling that could last for years<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__meta proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"article-item__date\" datetime=\"2026-04-27\">27th April 2026<\/time>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__author\">By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tDominic Tobin<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>                                                                                            \n\t\n\n<article class=\"article-item \">\n\n\t\n\t\t<a class=\"article-item__link \" href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/articles\/single-seaters\/f1\/the-best-f1-drivers-who-never-won-a-world-championship\/\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__image article-item__image--cropped\">\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<picture>\n            <source type=\"image\/webp\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/19790101F1-0129-450x253.jpg.webp 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" height=\"253\" width=\"450\" alt=\"The best F1 drivers who never won a world championship\" class=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/19790101F1-0129-450x253.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/19790101F1-0129-450x253.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw\" loading=\"lazy\"  \/>\n        <\/picture>\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__content\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__row proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__tag tag tag--group\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span>F1<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-item__title article-item__title--cropped sanomat\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe best F1 drivers who never won a world championship\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__excerpt\" data-cf-ignore>\n\t\t\t\t<p>A Formula 1 world championship is meant to identify the best-of-the best. But being among the greatest drivers of your era is no guarantee of a title: here are some of the legendary characters never to be crowned a world champion<\/p>\n\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__meta proxima\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<time class=\"article-item__date\" datetime=\"2026-04-25\">25th April 2026<\/time>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"article-item__author\">By\n\t\t\t\t\t\tPablo Elizalde<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n<\/article>                                                                    <\/div>\n                                    <div class=\"article-grid__column\">\n                                                                                    <\/div>\n                    <\/div>\n                <\/div>\n            <\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/section>\n\n\n    <section\n        class=\"c-article-listing article-listing content-section\"\n        data-behaviour=\"tag-automation\"\n        data-automation-type=\"related-issue-articles\"\n        data-tags=\"[&quot;Pastor Maldonado&quot;]\"\n        data-current-post=\"30574\"\n        data-count-override=\"8\"><\/section>\n\n\n<section class=\"c-database-cats database-cats content-section\">\n    <div class=\"container\">\n        <div class=\"database-cats__content\">\n                                                                    <div class=\"database-cat\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"database-cat__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/series.jpg\"\/>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__count\">3,495<\/p>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__title\">Championships<\/p>\n                        <a class=\"database-cat__view proxima\" href=\"\/database\/championships\/\">View<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                                                                                    <div class=\"database-cat\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"database-cat__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/results.jpg\"\/>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__count\">20,115<\/p>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__title\">Results<\/p>\n                        <a class=\"database-cat__view proxima\" href=\"\/database\/races\/\">View<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                                                                                    <div class=\"database-cat\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"database-cat__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/drivers.jpg\"\/>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__count\">26,080<\/p>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__title\">Drivers<\/p>\n                        <a class=\"database-cat__view proxima\" href=\"\/database\/drivers\/\">View<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                                                                                    <div class=\"database-cat\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"database-cat__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/team-driver-image.jpg\"\/>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__count\">14,825<\/p>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__title\">Teams<\/p>\n                        <a class=\"database-cat__view proxima\" href=\"\/database\/teams\/\">View<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                                                                                    <div class=\"database-cat\">\n                        <img decoding=\"async\" class=\"database-cat__image\" src=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/circuits.jpg\"\/>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__count\">930<\/p>\n                        <p class=\"database-cat__title\">Circuits<\/p>\n                        <a class=\"database-cat__view proxima\" href=\"\/database\/circuits\/\">View<\/a>\n                    <\/div>\n                                    <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/section>","protected":false},"author":849,"featured_media":51899,"menu_order":0,"template":"single-database.php","tags":[39545],"series":[91,24,116,117,134,135,244],"country":[859],"gender":[28],"class_list":["post-30574","driver","type-driver","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-pastor-maldonado","series-euro-3000-italian-f3000","series-f1","series-formula-renault-3-5","series-formula-renault-v6","series-gp2-f2","series-gp2-asia","series-world-sportscars","country-venezuela","gender-male"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Pastor Maldonado \u2022 Career &amp; Character Info | Motorsport Database<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Find out about Euro 3000 \/ Italian F3000 driver, Pastor Maldonado, their career, history and character information incl. races, teams and much more.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Pastor Maldonado \u2022 Career &amp; Character Info | Motorsport Database\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Find out about Euro 3000 \/ Italian F3000 driver, Pastor Maldonado, their career, history and character information incl. races, teams and much more.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-11-07T14:15:45+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"300\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/\",\"name\":\"Pastor Maldonado \u2022 Career & Character Info | Motorsport Database\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-05T23:28:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-11-07T14:15:45+00:00\",\"description\":\"Find out about Euro 3000 \/ Italian F3000 driver, Pastor Maldonado, their career, history and character information incl. races, teams and much more.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg\",\"width\":300,\"height\":300},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Drivers\/Riders\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Pastor Maldonado\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/\",\"name\":\"Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Pastor Maldonado \u2022 Career & Character Info | Motorsport Database","description":"Find out about Euro 3000 \/ Italian F3000 driver, Pastor Maldonado, their career, history and character information incl. races, teams and much more.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Pastor Maldonado \u2022 Career & Character Info | Motorsport Database","og_description":"Find out about Euro 3000 \/ Italian F3000 driver, Pastor Maldonado, their career, history and character information incl. races, teams and much more.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/","og_site_name":"Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine","article_modified_time":"2023-11-07T14:15:45+00:00","og_image":[{"width":300,"height":300,"url":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/","url":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/","name":"Pastor Maldonado \u2022 Career & Character Info | Motorsport Database","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-05T23:28:55+00:00","dateModified":"2023-11-07T14:15:45+00:00","description":"Find out about Euro 3000 \/ Italian F3000 driver, Pastor Maldonado, their career, history and character information incl. races, teams and much more.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/01\/r6t7023.jpg","width":300,"height":300},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/pastor-maldonado\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Drivers\/Riders","item":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/drivers\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Pastor Maldonado"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/","name":"Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/driver\/30574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/driver"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/driver"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/849"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/driver\/30574\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":99376,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/driver\/30574\/revisions\/99376"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/51899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30574"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=30574"},{"taxonomy":"country","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/country?post=30574"},{"taxonomy":"gender","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.motorsportmagazine.com\/database\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/gender?post=30574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}