Rodolfo González (born 14 May 1986 in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

) is a Venezuelan

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

Career

Formula Renault

After previously competing in

karting Kart racing or karting is a road racing variant of motorsport with open-wheel, four-wheeled vehicles known as go-karts or shifter karts. They are usually raced on scaled-down circuits, although some professional kart races are also held on f ...

, González raced in the 2003

Formula Renault 2.0 UK British Formula Renault Championship referred to one of two Formula Renault championships that were held in the United Kingdom. The main series was Renault Sport UK's Formula Renault 2.0 UK championship which was held from 1989 to 2011 and was g ...

Winter Series, before racing in the main series in 2004 and 2005 while attending

City College Norwich City College Norwich is a college of further and higher education in Norfolk, England. It is one of the largest colleges in the country. The College has expanded in recent years following mergers with Easton College in 2020 and Paston Colleg ...

Formula Three

He won the British F3 International Series National Class in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

for T-Sport. In 2007 he continued to show promise by finishing 11th in the

2007 British Formula 3 season The 2007 British Formula 3 International Series was the 57th British Formula 3 International Series season. It commenced on 9 April 2007 and ended on 30 September after twenty two races, with Estonian driver Marko Asmer Marko Asmer (born 30 J ...

with T-Sport. In

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

, he moved to

Carlin Motorsport Carlin, formerly Carlin Motorsport, is a motor racing team based in the United Kingdom. It currently competes in five championships: FIA Formula 2 Championship, FIA Formula 3 Championship, F4 British Championship, BRDC British Formula 3 and E ...

and the

Formula Three Euroseries The Formula 3 Euro Series was a European-based junior single seater formula for Formula Three chassis that was launched (in its current form) in 2003 as a merger of the French Formula Three Championship and German Formula Three Championship. The ...

and endured a miserable season, amassing just half a point in the rain-shortened sprint race at

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

GP2 Series

He replaced

Andreas Zuber Andreas "Andi" Zuber (born 9 October 1983 in Judenburg, Austria) is a motor racing driver. An Austrian by birth, he is based in Dubai and once raced under a licence issued by the United Arab Emirates. Career Formula König Despite beginning his ...

for the third round of the 2008–09 GP2 Asia Series season at

Sakhir Sakhir ( ) is a desert area located in the Southern Governorate of Bahrain, near Zallaq. It contains the Al-Sakhir Palace, built in 1870. Camping in Sakhir during the winter months is a popular activity in the country. Notable sites In the earl ...

, and finished 16th in his first race. He eventually wound up 23rd in the championship, with a best finish of eighth in the sprint race at

Sepang Pekan Sepang is a small border town and also a mukim in Sepang District, Selangor, Malaysia. The Sepang International Circuit in the western part of the town, where the Malaysian F1 Grand Prix was and Malaysian MotoGP Grand Prix is held. Mal ...

. González entered the main

GP2 Series The GP2 Series was a form of open wheel motor racing introduced in 2005 following the discontinuation of the long-term Formula One feeder series, Formula 3000. The GP2 format was conceived by Bernie Ecclestone and Flavio Briatore, while Eccle ...

for the first time as a replacement for

Davide Rigon Davide Rigon (born 26 August 1986) is an Italian professional racing driver who is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and other selected GT races for AF Corse. He is also currently part of the Scuderia Ferrari Formula ...

Trident Racing Trident Racing is a motor racing team that competes in single-seater formula racing. It was founded in 2006 in order to compete in the GP2 championship, which was Europe's second highest-ranking single-seater formula below Formula One. Trident is ...

for the German rounds. He also competed in

Euroseries 3000 Auto GP, sometimes referred to as the Auto GP World Series and formerly known as both Euro Formula 3000 and the Euroseries 3000, was a European formula racing series. The series' roots can be traced back to 1999 and the Italian Formula 3000 serie ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

, finishing in fifth position. González raced for

Arden International Arden International is a multiple formula racing team created and run by Christian Horner and Garry Horner. It currently runs teams in the Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 and F4 British Championship, and formerly ran in the FIA Formula 2 Championship ...

in the first round of the 2009–10 GP2 Asia Series season before being replaced by

Javier Villa Javier Villa García (born 5 October 1987) is a Spanish racing driver living in Arriondas, Asturias, Spain. He drove in the GP2 Series from 2006 towards 2009. In 2010 he switched to touring cars, driving at the Spanish Mini Challenge and later th ...

. He returned at the final round in

Bahrain Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an ...

, replacing

Sergio Pérez Sergio Michel "Checo" Pérez Mendoza (; born 26 January 1990), is a Mexican Auto racing, racing driver who races in Formula One for Red Bull Racing, having previously driven for Sauber, McLaren, Force India, and Racing Point. He won his first ...

Barwa Addax Addax, or Barwa Addax was a Spanish motorsport team owned by the bank Addax Capital, which competed in the GP2, GP3 and GP2 Asia Series. Team history GP2 Series Barwa Addax was formed as a result of Alejandro Agag purchase of the Campos Rac ...

. González returned to Arden for the

2010 GP2 Series season The 2010 GP2 Series season was the forty-fourth season of the second-tier of Formula One feeder championship and also sixth season under the GP2 Series moniker. The season began on 8 May at the Circuit de Catalunya in Montmeló, Spain and ended o ...

alongside

Charles Pic Charles Pic (; born 15 February 1990) is a retired professional racing driver who drove in Formula One for two full seasons in and , racing for Marussia F1 Team in the first season and then for Caterham in the second season. Early career Karti ...

. He scored four points and finished 21st in the drivers' championship. For 2011, he moved to

, where he competed alongside

Stefano Coletti Stefano Coletti (born 6 April 1989) is a Monégasque professional racing driver who races for SMP Racing in the European Le Mans Series. His sister Alexandra Coletti is an alpine skier. He is the first Monégasque driver since Louis Chiron (1931) ...

. He finished seventeenth in the

Asia series The Asia Series was an international club baseball competition, contested by the champions of all four of the professional leagues that are associated with the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) — Australian Baseball League (ABL), ...

and 26th in the main series. He was then signed by

Caterham Racing Caterham Racing is the practice of racing Caterham Seven-type sportscars. History The Caterham Seven (or Caterham 7) is a small sports car produced by Caterham Cars in the United Kingdom. It is based on the Lotus Seven, a lightweight sports ca ...

alongside

Giedo van der Garde Giedo Gijsbertus Gerrit van der Garde (born 25 April 1985 in Rhenen, Netherlands) is a Dutch racing driver, currently competing in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship for TDS Racing. From 2018 to 2021 he competed in the FIA World Endurance Cha ...

for the 2012 season, in which he finished 22nd in the championship.

Formula One

In 2010 González was given a drive in the

Lotus T127 The Lotus T127 is a Formula One motor racing car designed and built by Lotus Racing for the season. It was driven by Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen and was unveiled in London, on 12 February 2010. The car made its track début in the hands ...

at the end-of-season young driver test in

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi (, ; ar, أَبُو ظَبْيٍ ' ) is the capital and second-most populous city (after Dubai) of the United Arab Emirates. It is also the capital of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and the centre of the Abu Dhabi Metropolitan Area. ...

, alongside Bulgarian

Vladimir Arabadzhiev Vladimir "Vlado" Arabadzhiev ( bg, Владимир (Владо) Арабаджиев, born 16 March 1984 in Plovdiv) is a Bulgarian racing driver. Career Formula Three Arabadzhiev began his career in the Italian Formula Three Championship in 2 ...

. On 14 March 2013

Marussia F1 The Marussia F1 Team (subsequently Manor Marussia F1 Team) was a Formula One racing team and constructor which was based in Banbury, Oxfordshire and then later Dinnington, South Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and competed with a Russian licen ...

announced that González would be the team's reserve driver for the

2013 Formula One season The 2013 FIA Formula One World Championship was the 64th Formula One World Championship, recognised by the sport's governing body, the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), as the highest class of competition for open-wheel racin ...

. He drove in the practice sessions at the Hungarian,

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and Korean Grands Prix for Marussia, notably crashing in the latter.

Endurance racing

González competed in the 2014 ELMS Championship with the Murphy Prototypes Endurance Racing Team in the LMP2 category, and the 2014 Le Mans Classic.

IndyCar

González tested

IndyCar Series The IndyCar Series, currently known as the NTT IndyCar Series under sponsorship, is the highest class of regional North American open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars in the United States, which has been conducted under the auspices of ...

cars in the 2014–2015 off-season with

Schmidt Peterson Motorsports The IndyCar Series operation of McLaren Racing competes under the banner of Arrow McLaren SP. This entry is based in Indianapolis and was founded by former driver Sam Schmidt as Sam Schmidt Motorsports. Fellow ex-driver Davey Hamilton joined as ...

and

Dale Coyne Racing Dale Coyne Racing (DCR) is an American professional open-wheel racing team that currently competes in the IndyCar Series. The team was founded in 1984 and is owned by former driver Dale Coyne. From 1995 to 2000, the team was known as Payton-Coyn ...

. He was a surprise addition to the IndyCar Series entry list in the fourth round of the

2015 IndyCar Series season The 2015 Verizon IndyCar Series was the 20th season of the IndyCar Series and the 104th season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event was the 99th Indianapolis 500, which was held on May 24. Will Power returned as the reigning cham ...

Barber Motorsports Park Barber Motorsports Park is an multi-purpose racing facility located in Birmingham, Alabama. It was built by George W. Barber, and includes the Barber Vintage Motorsport Museum. It has been the site of the IndyCar Series' Grand Prix of Alabam ...

in the Dale Coyne No. 18 entry.

Return to racing

González was announced to drive for Idola Motorsport in the Britcar Prototype Cup in a

Praga R1 The Praga R1 is a sportscar made by Czech car manufacturer Praga Racing. The cars raced on the Supercar Challenge and the Britcar Endurance Championship. Development The first Praga R1 was built in 2012. Official Praga testdriver Dann ...

with Ruben Stanislau. He won the opening race of the season at

Silverstone Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...

Racing record

Career summary

^* Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 3 Euro Series results

(

key Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Series results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Asia Series results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One participations

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicates fastest lap)

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Complete Formula Acceleration 1 results

(

) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Complete IndyCar Series results

(

)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gonzalez, Rodolfo 1986 births Living people 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers Venezuelan racing drivers Dutch Formula Renault 2.0 drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers GP2 Series drivers GP2 Asia Series drivers Auto GP drivers European Le Mans Series drivers IndyCar Series drivers People educated at City College Norwich Manor Motorsport drivers T-Sport drivers Carlin racing drivers Scuderia Coloni drivers Trident Racing drivers Arden International drivers Campos Racing drivers Murphy Prototypes drivers Dale Coyne Racing drivers RC Motorsport drivers Caterham Racing drivers Mark Burdett Motorsport drivers Britcar drivers Sportspeople from Caracas