Pastor Maldonado Biography: Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan professional racing driver who competed in Formula One for the Williams and Lotus teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017.
Pastor Maldonado Biography
Pastor Maldonado Biography: Maldonado was born in Maracay, Venezuela, on March 9, 1985. He became addicted to racing at a young age, preferring to watch his uncles race their YMCA go-karts. Maldonado began competing in BMX racing when he was four years old and won a national championship.

Pastor Maldonado Wiki
Name | Pastor Maldonado |
Date Of Birth | March 9, 1985 |
Birth Place | Maracay, Venezuela |
Height | 5′ 8″ |
Weight | 63kg |
Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
Profession | Racing Driver |
Net Worth | $5 Million |
Car Collection | N/A |
Pastor Maldonado Family
On December 15, 2012, Maldonado married Venezuelan journalist Gabriela Tarkanyi in Canaima, Venezuela. They had a daughter in September 2013 and another in November 2017.
Also Read: Alan Jones Biography, Wiki, Height, Weight, Racing Career & More
Pastor Maldonado Career
In 1992, Maldonado was invited to Kartódromo Carmencita Hernández and was impressed by the karts racing there. So he encouraged his father to let him drive one. The following year, Maldonado made his debut in the karting championships. Since there was no category for his age at the time, he competed against children aged 10 to 12 years old.
In 2003, Maldonado had his first contact with formula racing in Italy. He competed with Cram Competition in the Italian Formula Renault Championship and finished eighth in the drivers’ championship. Three podium finishes and a pole position were among his impressive achievements. In addition, Cram Competition participated in one German Formula Renault Championship race at Oschersleben.
Maldonado ran a dual program in Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup and Italian with Cram Competition in 2004. He won the Italian championship with eight victories and six prime positions in seventeen races. He finished in eighth place in the European championship with two victories. Maldonado also participated in one round of the now-defunct Formula Renault V6 Eurocup at Spa-Francorchamps, achieving a fifth-place finish.
Maldonado got to test with the Minardi Formula One team in Misano, Italy, in November 2004. The former team owner, Giancarlo Minardi, was present at the test and praised Maldonado’s performance.

Maldonado was linked to the Williams team for 2011 towards the close of the 2010 season, replacing former GP2 teammate Nico Hülkenberg alongside Rubens Barrichello. He participated in the end-of-season test for young drivers at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit, racing for Williams and Hispania Racing, the renamed Campos team. On 15 November, Williams confirmed that Hülkenberg had been removed from the 2011 lineup, and on 1 December, Maldonado was named his replacement. Maldonado brought sponsorship from the Venezuelan government (through the state-owned PDVSA oil corporation) to the team, in addition to his track record.
The Lotus F1 team hired Maldonado on 29 November 2013 to race alongside Romain Grosjean in 2014. He drove with the number 13, previously used sparingly in Formula One. Mark Slade, who previously engineered for Kimi Raikkonen, was Maldonado’s engineer.
Maldonado was initially scheduled to continue with Lotus in 2016, but Renault purchased the team, and his contract was terminated due to issues with his sponsor, PDVSA. Former McLaren driver Kevin Magnussen replaced him.