A detailed look at USF1 driver Jose Maria Lopez's Formula 1 career.

Jose Maria Lopez

Born: 26.04.83
Birthplace: Río Tercero, Argentina
Team: USF1
2010 Car Number: 22
Last season: N/A

With newcomers USF1 struggling for funds, they were always going to opt for at least one pay driver for their debut season and Jose Maria Lopez fits (and pays) the bill quite nicely.

A sponsorship package rumoured to be worth eight million dollars was enough to secure the South American a drive.

It helps to have friends in high places though as the Argentine government reportedly contributed half of the money.

Once the finances were secured, the deal was announced by Argentina President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Buenos Aires.

Pechito, as Lopez is fondly known as, will start life as an F1 driver on the back of some impressive performances in other motor racing series.

In 2002 he drove in the Italian Formula Renault - along with Robert Kubica - and won the title after picking up four wins. Some of the former winners of the Championship include Felipe Massa and Kamui Kobayashi.

After that he moved on to the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup and walked away with the crown after winning five race wins.

That was followed by a move to International Formula 3000 with the CMS team where he finished sixth.

Next up was the GP2 Series, which resulted in a ninth-place finish with the DAMS team in 2005 and a 10th spot with the Super Nova Racing team in 2006.

He also tested for Renault during the season.