F1 | Spanish GP 2012, Pastor Maldonado's only victory in Formula 1

He is remembered as the driver of accidents, the reckless one who as soon as you see him near another car you already think about the Safety Car. Nevertheless Pastor Maldonado is one of those drivers who can boast pole and victory in the same race on his CV. The only ones of his career, which also represent the only podium achieved out of 96 GPs held.

It all happens on May 13, 2012, on the occasion of the Spanish GP. That this would have become a strange race became clear on Saturday, at the end of qualifying. Lewis Hamilton wins pole but parks his McLaren on the track to avoid running out of petrol at the FIA ​​controls. For this maneuver he is disqualified and relegated to last position on the grid.

The one who benefits is Pastor Maldonado, who set the second fastest time ahead of Fernando Alonso's Ferrari and was suddenly thrown onto pole in a race that will give him much more. Yes, because the Williams driver, despite overtaking Alonso at the start, managed to take home the top step of the podium, becoming the first Venezuelan driver to win a Formula 1 race. Williams returned to victory in that race after seven years, on the weekend of owner Frank Williams' 70th birthday.

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A truly strange GP, that of Spain 2012. Just like that World Championship, won by Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull, which in the first seven outings of the season saw seven different winners: before Maldonado in Barcelona, ​​Button (McLaren) won in Australia, Alonso (Ferrari) in Malaysia, Rosberg (Mercedes) in China and Vettel (Red Bull) in Bahrain; after the Venezuelan, Webber (Red Bull) won the Monaco GP and Hamilton (McLaren) the Canadian one.

Maldonado scored 45 points to finish his World Championship 15th in the standings, but his joy on the podium made that day a little fairytale in the history of Formula 1.