Manuel Maldonado is Pastor’s cousin and if he seems a bit familiar, it’s because he’s the kid Pastor carried out of the fire that happened in the Williams pit garage hours after winning the Spanish GP in 2012.
Manuel, who is beginning just his second year of single-seater racing, will drive for the Fortec team in British F3 having previously raced in Italian Formula 4 and the MRF Challenge.
He’s already tested the car and, as you’d expect, is excited about the upcoming season: “It’s a great opportunity for me to have signed with Fortec, I have worked with them in the past and I am very happy to be here. I know that we can develop well together. Now we keep preparing hard for the upcoming season and it’s an honour for me to represent my country Venezuela in a British championship.”
With a best finish of 12th in Italian F4 and 9th in the MRF Challenge it’s probably fair to say that results in his career so far haven’t been great. He’ll be hoping classic circuits such as Brands Hatch, Oulton Park, Donington Park can bring him more success.
Either way he’ll probably be outscoring his cousin, who for the second year in a row looks like he’ll be without a drive despite holding talks with both F1 and IndyCar teams. It’s strange – he was always so consistent and dependable…