Pastor Rafael Maldonado Motta is a Venezuelan professional racing driver, who competed in Formula One for the Williams (2011–2013) and Lotus (2014–2015) teams and as a Pirelli test driver until 2017. Before entering Formula One, he won the 2010 GP2 Series championship. He became the first Venezuelan to win a Formula One Grand Prix when he won the 2012 Spanish Grand Prix for Williams, from his first and only pole position. It was also his only podium finish and his only win in Formula One.

Lotus F1 Team was a British Formula One racing team. The team competed under the Lotus name from 2012 until 2015, following the renaming of the former Renault team based at Enstone in Oxfordshire. The Lotus F1 Team was majority owned by Genii Capital. Lotus F1 was named after its branding partner Group Lotus. The team achieved a race victory and fourth position in the Formula One Constructors' World Championship in their first season under the Lotus title. Lotus F1 achieved 2 race victories in their time on the grid, both courtesy of Kimi Räikkönen. The team was sold back to Renault on 18 December 2015. The Lotus F1 Team name was officially dropped on 3 February 2016, as Renault announced that the team would compete as Renault Sport Formula One Team.