Mahaveer Raghunathan

Mahaveer Raghunathan (born 17 November 1998) is an Indian racing driver. He currently competes in the Italian GT Championship with Lazarus Corse and has previously competed in the 2019 FIA Formula 2 Championship with MP Motorsport. He is an AMR Junior Team driver.

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.

In 2013, Raghunathan competed in the MRF Challenge Formula 1600, finishing sixth. 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

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

European F3 Championship & GP3 Series
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. He failed to get any points, finishing 39th in the championship Raghunathan took part 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.

Auto GP & BOSS GP Series
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.

In 2017, Raghunathan continued racing in BOSS GP's Formula Class Championship with PS Racing. He made 13 podiums out of 14 races in his class, and ending the season as the champion of the Formula Class. He is the first and only Indian to win the BOSS GP Championship.

Raghunathan took part in the FIA WEC rookie test at the end of the year, driving an Oreca 07 for G-Drive Racing.

FIA Formula 2 Championship
Following a season where he made just one race appearance in the Le Mans Cup, Raghunathan progressed towards the FIA Formula 2 Championship in 2019, racing alongside Jordan King for MP Motorsport. He was subsequently suspended for the Austrian round after accumulating 12 penalty points on his license during the season. He returned to the seat for the Silverstone round, continuing to run around at the back of the field. Both Raghunathan and team-mate King were reprimanded for failing to slow for yellow flags in qualifying at Spa-Francorchamps. A reduced field at the following round in Italy led to his only point of the season, but he was once again penalised in Sochi for not following track-limit procedures. He finished the season 20th in the standings, scoring only a single point, and being the last placed driver among all drivers to have scored points.

As a result of Raghunathan's tumultuous Formula 2 campaign, Raghunathan is considered to be one of the worst drivers to compete in modern single-seater racing. Following his first F2 event ban, Johnny Herbert labelled Raghunathan as "someone who is not aware of what is going on around him".

Formula One
In August 2021, nearly two years after Raghunathan's last appearance behind the wheel of a race car, Raghunathan tested the Alfa Romeo Racing C38 alongside Théo Pourchaire at the Hungaroring where he set a time 1.9 seconds slower than the Frenchman.

In July 2023, nearly two years after his last F1 test, Raghunathan tested a McLaren MCL35 at Portimão, completing a distance of 750 km.

World Endurance Championship
In November 2022, Raghunathan returned to the WEC, driving for Algarve Pro Racing at the rookie test in Bahrain.

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. Raghunathan achieved his first professional career podium by coming in third at Round 3.

He returned to the series in 2024, having been inducted into Aston Martin's AMR Driver Academy. He would be signed by Lazarus Corse to compete in the endurance rounds of the championship alongside William Alatalo and three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo.

Complete Italian F4 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)

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)

Italian GT Endurance Championship
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
 * Season still in progress.