Mahaveer Raghunathan
Indian racing driver (born 1998)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mahaveer Raghunathan (born 17 November 1998) is an Indian racing driver. He currently competes in the Italian GT Championship with AF Corse. He became only the third Indian driver to test a Formula One car when he participated in a private test with Alfa Romeo Racing on 5 August 2021 at the Hungaroring. Raghunathan later conducted another F1 test with McLaren in July 2023 at Portimão, he completed 750kms in two days driving the MCL35M on July 4th and 6th 2023.
| Mahaveer Raghunathan | |
|---|---|
Raghunathan in 2025 | |
| Nationality |  Indian |
| Born | 17 November 1998 |
| Italian GT Endurance Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2023 |
| Current team | AF Corse |
| Racing licence |  FIA Silver |
| Former teams | Lazarus Corse, Imperiale Racing |
| Starts | 12 |
| Wins | 3 |
| Podiums | 8 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 0 |
| Best finish | 2nd in 2025 |
| Previous series | |
| 2019 2016–17 2016 2016 2015 2014–15 2014 | FIA Formula 2 Championship BOSS GP GP3 Series Auto GP European Formula 3 Championship MRF Formula 2000 Italian Formula 4 Championship |
Career
Junior series
Raghunathan started his racing career in karting in 2012, where he remained active until 2013. He also made his formula racing debut in 2012 in four races of the JK Racing Asia Series for the Meco Racing team.[2]
In 2013, Raghunathan competed in the MRF Challenge Formula 1600, finishing sixth.[3] He also took part in the final race weekend of the Formula Masters China series at the Shanghai International Circuit for the Cebu Pacific Air by KCMG team.[4]
In 2014, Raghunathan moved to the new Italian F4 Championship, debuting on the second race weekend for the F&M team. He finished 12th in the championship.[5]
Formula 3
At the beginning of 2015, Raghunathan took part in the final race weekend of the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 series at the Madras Motor Race Track. He then returned to Europe to take part in the European Formula 3 Championship for the Motopark team.[6] He failed to get any points, finishing 39th in the championship.[7] He participated in the official GP3 post season test with the Campos and Trident teams, in preparation for the 2016 GP3 Series, but he only raced in the first round of the championship for Koiranen GP. He also tested with the Coloni Motorsport team in Auto GP.[6]
Auto GP and BOSS GP
In 2016, Raghunathan raced in the Auto GP championship with Italian team PS Racing, finishing second in the championship. In the same year, he also raced in the BOSS GP series in the Formula Class and secured two podiums in his class.[1]
In 2017, Raghunathan continued racing in BOSS GP's Formula Class Championship races in his class. He ended the season as the champion of the Formula Class, as the only driver to compete in all of the season's races. He is the first and only Indian to win the BOSS GP Championship.[1]
World Endurance Championship
Raghunathan took part in the FIA WEC rookie test at the end of the 2017 season, driving an Oreca 07 for G-Drive Racing.[8]
In November 2022, Raghunathan drove for Algarve Pro Racing at the rookie test in Bahrain.[9]
FIA Formula 2 Championship
Following a season in which he made just one race appearance in the Le Mans Cup, Raghunathan progressed to the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2019, racing alongside Jordan King for MP Motorsport.[10]
Raghunathan collected numerous penalty points throughout the season. Infringements included passing the chequered flag twice in Bahrain, failing to stop at the weighbridge during practice at Baku, overtaking a car before the safety car line in Baku, collided with Jack Aitken and left the track to gain an advantage twice at Monaco and three virtual safety car infringements at Paul Ricard.[11] Following the French round, Raghunathan had 12 penalty points on his licence, resulting in a race ban for the Austrian round.[11] Raghunathan returned to the series at Silverstone, however he continued to collect penalty points – failing to slow down for yellow flags in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps, not following track-limit procedures in Sochi and failed to follow the practice start procedure at Abu Dhabi.[11] Raghunathan consequently ended the season with 12 penalty points on his licence, which would have resulted in another race ban if the season had additional races.[11] After he received his ban in France, Formula One Grand Prix winner Johnny Herbert labelled him as "someone who is not aware of what is going on around him".[12]
Raghunathan collected his only point of the season thanks to a reduced field in Italy. He finished the season 20th in the standings, scoring only a single point and being the last-placed driver among those who had scored points.[13]
Formula One
In August 2021, nearly two years after his last appearance behind the wheel of a race car, Raghunathan became the third Indian to drive a Formula One car when he tested the Alfa Romeo Racing C38 alongside Théo Pourchaire at the Hungaroring where he set a time 1.9 seconds slower than the Frenchman.[14][15] In July 2023, nearly two years after his last Formula One test, Raghunathan tested a McLaren MCL35 at Portimão, completing a distance of 750km over two days.[16]
Italian GT
Raghunathan competed in the Italian GT Endurance Championship in 2023, driving a Lamborghini Huracán GT3 for Imperiale Racing in the Pro-Am class alongside teammates Jack Bartholomew and Miguel Garcia.[17] Raghunathan achieved his first professional career podium by coming in third at Round 3.[18] He returned to the series in 2024, having been inducted into Aston Martin's AMR Driver Academy.[19] He was signed by Lazarus Corse to compete in the endurance rounds of the championship alongside William Alatalo and three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo.[20]
In 2025 he joined the AF Corse team in the Sprint and Endurance Championship, finished 2nd in the championship winning 3 races and finishing 8 times on the podium driving the Ferrari 296 GT3.[21]
Racing record
Racing career summary
Complete JK Racing Asia Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Formula Masters China results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete Italian F4 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Motopark | Volkswagen | SIL 1 26 |
SIL 2 25 |
SIL 3 29 |
HOC 1 24 |
HOC 2 31 |
HOC 3 30 |
PAU 1 DNQ |
PAU 2 DNQ |
PAU 3 DNQ |
MNZ 1 Ret |
MNZ 2 24 |
MNZ 3 25 |
SPA 1 29 |
SPA 2 27 |
SPA 3 24 |
NOR 1 25 |
NOR 2 20 |
NOR 3 25 |
ZAN 1 27 |
ZAN 2 30 |
ZAN 3 28 |
RBR 1 31 |
RBR 2 25 |
RBR 3 29 |
ALG 1 30 |
ALG 2 23 |
ALG 3 DNS |
NÜR 1 30 |
NÜR 2 26 |
NÜR 3 22 |
HOC 1 |
HOC 2 |
HOC 3 |
39th | 0 |
Complete Masters of Formula 3 results
| Year | Team | Car | Qualifying | Quali Race | Main race |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 |  Motopark |
Dallara F315 | 17th | 17th | 17th |
Complete Auto GP Formula Open Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete GP3 Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete BOSS GP Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | MP Motorsport | BHR FEA 18 |
BHR SPR 19 |
BAK FEA 11 |
BAK SPR 13 |
CAT FEA 16 |
CAT SPR 19 |
MON FEA 15 |
MON SPR Ret |
LEC FEA 12 |
LEC SPR 18 |
RBR FEA EX |
RBR SPR EX |
SIL FEA 15 |
SIL SPR 18 |
HUN FEA 17 |
HUN SPR 19 |
SPA FEA C |
SPA SPR C |
MNZ FEA 10 |
MNZ SPR 13 |
SOC FEA 17 |
SOC SPR 17 |
YMC FEA Ret |
YMC SPR 15 |
20th | 1 |
Complete Italian GT Championship results
Italian GT Endurance Championship
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Team | Car | Class | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Imperiale Racing | Lamborghini Huracán GT3 Evo | Pro-Am | PER 6 |
MUG | MNZ 4 |
VLL 6 |
6th | 32 |
| 2024 | Lazarus Corse | Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT3 Evo | Pro | VAL 14 |
MUG 11 |
IMO | MON | NC[a] | 0 |
Notes
- Not classified, as Raghunathan did not participate in at least three events according to series regulations.