Maldonado, the 2010 GP2 Series champion, made his F1 debut in 2011 and went on to become the first Venezuelan to win a Grand Prix with his 2012 victory for Williams in Spain. This year, however, he has yet to score a point and lies 19th in the drivers’ championship.
“I can confirm 50 percent of our driver line-up for 2015 as Pastor is with us for next year,” team principal Gerard Lopez told the Lotus website. “Despite the difficulties we’ve had so far this season, he recognises our true potential as a team and we recognise his true potential as a driver. We will achieve great things together.”
Maldonado’s current team mate at Lotus is Frenchman Romain Grosjean, who has had a full-time race seat with the Enstone squad since 2012. This year Grosjean has scored eight points, putting him 14th in the standings.