José María "Pechito"López (born 26 April 1983) is anArgentinerace car driver who is currently competing in theFIA World Endurance Championship withAkkodis ASP. He is three-timeWorld Touring Champion withCitroën in2014,2015 and2016, and two-time World Endurance Champion withToyota Gazoo Racing in2020 and2021, also becoming that last year the second Argentine driver to win the24 Hours of Le Mans sinceJosé Froilán González in 1954.
López raced in the2006 GP2 Series for theSuper Nova team, and previously for theDAMS team, and the CMS team inFormula 3000. He was also atRenault F1 as a test driver. He was supposed to make hisFormula One debut in 2010 forUS F1 Team but the team shut down before contesting a single race. On 16 December 2013 he joined theCitroën Total WTCC team for the2014 World Touring Car Championship season.[1] He won 10 races that year and clinched his first World Touring Car Championship. In2015 he repeated the feat, again winning 10 races and the championship.[2] In 2016, he again retained the title with eight wins.[3]
López began inkarting, before moving to theFormula Renault 2000 Eurocup in 2001, finishing in 17th position, taking one pole position and one fastest lap.[4] He stayed in the series for the 2002 season driving forCram Competition, finishing in fourth position, taking one victory.[4] He also drove for Cram inItalian Formula Renault that year, where he became champion, taking four wins, beatingRobert Kubica to the crown. He moved on to theFormula Renault V6 Eurocup in 2003, making his first association with theDAMS team, winning the title with five race wins.[4]
In2004 López moved up toInternational Formula 3000 with the CMS team, finishing sixth overall.[4] He also continued in the V6 Eurocup that year, driving in four races.
López raced in the inaugural season of theGP2 Series in 2005, making him one of only a select few drivers in the series who had previous experience of a full season in Formula 3000, the series which GP2 replaced. He finished ninth in the standings racing for the DAMS team.[4] For 2006 he moved to theSuper Nova Racing team, finishing tenth in the standings.[4]
In the early part of 2007, López raced in theAmerican Le Mans Series, racing aFerrari 430 GT for Corsa Motorsports/White Lightning in the12 Hours of Sebring, and for Risi Competizione at St. Petersburg.
López also returned to Argentina in 2007 to race inTC 2000, the country's major production-based touring car championship. He was 5th that year, won the drivers' title in 2008, and successfully defended this crown in 2009. López also joined theTurismo Carretera in 2008 and theTop Race V6 in 2009; he became TRV6 champion in 2009. He narrowly lost out on winning the 2009Turismo Carretera title after crashing out on an oilspill on the 18th lap of the final race of the season, thereby losing the unique opportunity to win three different championships in the same season.
He also competed in selected races of theFIA GT Championship in 2008 for the ACA Argentina team.[4]
López was a member of theRenault Driver Development programme between 2004 and 2006, and was test driver forRenault F1 during the2006 season.
In November 2009 López confirmed that he had a deal in place with the newUS F1 Team to race in the2010 Formula One season, provided he secured an eight million-dollar sponsorship package.[5] Sources close to López claimed he already had eighty percent of the funds needed to secure his place in the team.[6]
López was announced as a driver for US F1 on 25 January 2010.[7] Former F1 driverCarlos Reutemann, a close friend of US F1 principalPeter Windsor and a leading politician in Argentina, helped put the funding package together for López. Complications in USF1's progress and uncertainty over whether USF1 would be able to stay in F1 for 2010 caused rumours to surface that López was in talks with rival teamCampos, to secure his place in F1. This was confirmed by his manager in late February.[8] On 2 March 2010, he was freed from his contract due to US F1 not being able to attempt to race. On 4 March,Karun Chandhok completed the 2010 grid by signing for Campos (later renamed as theHispania Racing F1 Team), leaving López without a race drive.[9]
In 2010, López remained driving for Honda in the Argentine TC 2000 championship, finishing 6th. In that year he was granted the PlatinumKonex Award as the best racing driver of the last decade in Argentina. For 2011 he switched to Fiat. In 2012, he won the (super) TC2000 championship for a third time, with privateer team PSG16.
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He made hisWorld Touring Car Championship début withWiechers-Sport at the2013 FIA WTCC Race of Argentina, substituting for their regular driverFredy Barth.[10] He took bothYokohama Independents' Trophy victories and scored an overall victory in race two.[11]
In 2014, he moved to the Citroën team, and became 2014 World Touring Car Champion, clinching the title atSuzuka, thanks to his dominant race car -the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC that got 17 victories out of 23 races[12]-, but also dominating his two team-mates :Yvan Muller and the circuit racesrookieSébastien Loeb. José María López finished the season with ten victories, close to theYvan Muller's record.
In 2015, López expected to have more difficulties "I am aware the competition is going to be much stronger because the other drivers are going to know me, they will push harder and you can see this already how Honda is pushing more, the Chevrolet drivers and the same in my Citroën team.",[13] yet he still dominated the first part of the season competition[14] with his team-mates on the Citroën C-Elysée WTCC.
In July 2016, López was confirmed asDS Virgin Racing's second driver for thethird season of theFIA Formula E Championship and finished ninth in the Drivers' championship. He returned to Formula E for the2017–18 campaign at theMarrakesh round forDragon Racing, replacing the outgoingNeel Jani.[15]
† As López was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Lucidi Motorsport | MNZ 11 | BRN 23 | MAG 24 | SIL Ret | ZOL Ret | HUN 10 | A1R 11 | NÜR 24 | JAR 7 | EST 6 | 17th | 24 |
| 2002 | Cram Competition | MAG | SIL | JAR 1 | AND 7 | OSC 4 | SPA 2 | IMO Ret | DON | EST 3 | 4th | 100 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Cram Competition | VLL 13 | PER Ret | PER 2 | SPA 3 | MAG 3 | MNZ 1 | VAR 1 | IMO 5 | MIS 1 | MUG 1 | 1st | 205 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | DAMS | CAT 1 Ret | CAT 2 13 | MAG 1 Ret | MAG 2 3 | MON 3 | DON 1 1 | DON 2 3 | SPA1 7 | SPA2 1 2 | SPA2 2 1 | AND 1 1 | AND 2 2 | OSC 1 2 | OSC 2 1 | EST 1 1 | EST 2 5 | MNZ 1 3 | MNZ 2 Ret | 1st | 354 | |
| 2004 | DAMS | MNZ 1 | MNZ 2 | VAL 1 | VAL 2 | MAG 1 | MAG 2 | MON | MAS 1 | MAS 2 | DON 1 | DON 2 | SPA 1 | SPA 2 | IMO 1 | IMO 2 | OSC 1 Ret | OSC 2 Ret | DUB 1 12 | DUB 2 11 | 27th | 2 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap.)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | CMS Performance | IMO Ret | CAT 6 | MON 3 | NÜR 5 | MAG Ret | SIL 4 | HOC 6 | HUN 8 | SPA 3 | MNZ Ret | 6th | 28 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| 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 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | DAMS | IMO FEA 2 | IMO SPR 11 | CAT FEA 6 | CAT SPR 1 | MON FEA Ret | NÜR FEA 13 | NÜR SPR 14 | MAG FEA 2 | MAG SPR Ret | SIL FEA 9 | SIL SPR DNS | HOC FEA 13 | HOC SPR 10 | HUN FEA Ret | HUN SPR Ret | IST FEA 6 | IST SPR 7 | MNZ FEA Ret | MNZ SPR Ret | SPA FEA 10 | SPA SPR 8 | BHR FEA 4 | BHR SPR 4 | 9th | 36 |
| 2006 | Super Nova International | VAL FEA 5 | VAL SPR Ret | IMO FEA Ret | IMO SPR 19† | NÜR FEA 4 | NÜR SPR 3 | CAT FEA Ret | CAT SPR Ret | MON FEA NC | SIL FEA Ret | SIL SPR 14 | MAG FEA 3 | MAG SPR Ret | HOC FEA 7 | HOC SPR 2 | HUN FEA 8 | HUN SPR Ret | IST FEA 9 | IST SPR 11 | MNZ FEA Ret | MNZ SPR Ret | 10th | 30 | ||
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Young Driver AMR | Aston Martin DBR9 | ABU QR | ABU CR | SIL QR | SIL CR | BRN QR | BRN CR | PRI QR | PRI CR | SPA QR | SPA CR | NÜR QR | NÜR CR | ALG QR | ALG CR | NAV QR | NAV CR | INT QR | INT CR | SAN QR Ret | SAN CR 5 | 37th | 10 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pos. | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Wiechers-Sport | BMW 320 TC | ITA 1 | ITA 2 | MAR 1 | MAR 2 | SVK 1 | SVK 2 | HUN 1 | HUN 2 | AUT 1 | AUT 2 | RUS 1 | RUS 2 | POR 1 | POR 2 | ARG 1 5 | ARG 2 1 | USA 1 | USA 2 | JPN 1 | JPN 2 | CHN 1 | CHN 2 | MAC 1 | MAC 2 | 15th | 35 |
| 2014 | Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | MAR 1 1 | MAR 2 2 | FRA 1 4 | FRA 2 1 | HUN 1 2 | HUN 2 6 | SVK 1 2 | SVK 2 C | AUT 1 3 | AUT 2 1 | RUS 1 1 | RUS 2 Ret | BEL 1 2 | BEL 2 1 | ARG 1 1 | ARG 2 1 | BEI 1 3 | BEI 2 4 | CHN 1 1 | CHN 2 3 | JPN 1 1 | JPN 2 6 | MAC 1 1 | MAC 2 5 | 1st | 462 |
| 2015 | Citroën Total WTCC | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | ARG 1 1 | ARG 2 2 | MAR 1 1 | MAR 2 3 | HUN 1 1 | HUN 2 6 | GER 1 1 | GER 2 2 | RUS 1 2 | RUS 2 12 | SVK 1 2 | SVK 2 2 | FRA 1 3 | FRA 2 1 | POR 1 1 | POR 2 5 | JPN 1 1 | JPN 2 Ret | CHN 1 1 | CHN 2 3 | THA 1 1 | THA 2 3 | QAT 1 1 | QAT 2 8 | 1st | 475 |
| 2016 | Citroën Racing | Citroën C-Elysée WTCC | FRA 1 6 | FRA 2 1 | SVK 1 5 | SVK 2 1 | HUN 1 13 | HUN 2 1 | MAR 1 2 | MAR 2 1 | GER 1 1 | GER 2 1 | RUS 1 5 | RUS 2 8 | POR 1 5 | POR 2 5 | ARG 1 5 | ARG 2 1 | JPN 1 4 | JPN 2 2 | CHN 1 4 | CHN 2 1 | QAT 1 9 | QAT 2 3 | 1st | 381 | ||
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | Chassis | Powertrain | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–17 | DS Virgin Racing | SparkSRT01-e | DS Virgin DSV-02 | HKG Ret | MRK 10 | BUE 10 | MEX 6 | MCO Ret | PAR 2 | BER 4 | BER 5 | NYC | NYC | MTL Ret | MTL 3 | 9th | 65 | |
| 2017–18 | Dragon Racing | SparkSRT01-e | Penske EV-2 | HKG | HKG | MRK 6 | SCL Ret | MEX 12 | PDE 8 | RME 17† | PAR 10 | BER 18 | ZUR 12 | NYC Ret | NYC Ret | 17th | 14 | |
| 2018–19 | GEOX Dragon | SparkSRT05e | Penske EV-3 | ADR Ret | MRK 11 | SCL 9 | MEX 17 | HKG 11 | SYX Ret | RME 16 | PAR 13 | MCO 10 | BER 20 | BRN DSQ | NYC 12 | NYC Ret | 21st | 3 |
† Driver did not finish the race, but was classified as he completed more than 90% of the race distance.
* Season still in progress.
| Year | Team | Co-Drivers | Car | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 |  Toyota Gazoo Racing |  Nicolas LapierreYuji Kunimoto | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 160 | DNF | DNF |
| 2018 | Toyota Gazoo Racing |  Mike ConwayKamui Kobayashi | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 386 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2019 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Mike ConwayKamui Kobayashi | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 385 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2020 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Mike ConwayKamui Kobayashi | Toyota TS050 Hybrid | LMP1 | 381 | 3rd | 3rd |
| 2021 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Mike ConwayKamui Kobayashi | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | Hypercar | 371 | 1st | 1st |
| 2022 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Mike ConwayKamui Kobayashi | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | Hypercar | 380 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2023 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Mike ConwayKamui Kobayashi | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | Hypercar | 103 | DNF | DNF |
| 2024 | Toyota Gazoo Racing | Kamui Kobayashi Nyck de Vries | Toyota GR010 Hybrid | Hypercar | 311 | 2nd | 2nd |
| 2025 | Akkodis ASP Team |  Clemens Schmid Răzvan Umbrărescu | Lexus RC F GT3 | LMGT3 | 340 | 37th | 5th |
(key)(Races inbold indicate pole position)
| Year | Team | Class | Make | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Ally Cadillac | DPi | Cadillac DPi-V.R | Cadillac 5.5 L V8 | DAY 5 | SEB 6 | LBH | LGA | MDO | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | PET | 17th | 566 |
| 2025 | Vasser Sullivan Racing | GTD Pro | Lexus RC F GT3 | Toyota2UR-GSE 5.0 L V8 | DAY | SEB 11 | LGA | DET | WGL | MOS | ELK | VIR | IMS | PET | 38th | 224 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | Class | Chassis | Engine | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Rank | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Cool Racing | LMP2 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 | CAT 4 | LEC 4 | ARA 5 | SPA 3 | POR 4 | ALG 7 | 6th | 69 |
For us, everything was new, the team was coming from rallying with a new car, new drivers. It was very difficult to set a goal. We never imagined to win so many races.
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Italian Formula Renault Championship Champion 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Inaugural | Formula Renault V6 Eurocup Champion 2003 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the200 km de Buenos Aires 2008 With:Anthony Reid | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | TC 2000 Championship Champion 2008–2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Top Race V6 Champion 2009 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Súper TC 2000 Championship Champion 2012 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Touring Car Championship Champion 2014,2015,2016 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | World Endurance Drivers Champion 2019–20,2021 With:Mike Conway &Kamui Kobayashi | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans 2021 With:Mike Conway &Kamui Kobayashi | Succeeded by |
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| FIA Formula 2 Championship |
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| FIA Formula 3 Championship |
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