When Mahaveer Raghunathan entered the world of motorsports, he would never have expected the roller-coaster ride he was about to endure — both on and off the track. Starting his journey in karting in his hometown of Chennai, moving through Formula 2, and even test-driving an F1 car, it initially seemed that things were going to be smooth sailing for the 26-year-old.
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But what followed was something Raghunathan could never have predicted. The Indian driver found himself at the centre of massive online trolling during his F2 stint with MP Motorsport in 2019. Raghunathan collected numerous penalty points that season, even getting banned after accumulating nine during the French Grand Prix. To make matters worse, he finished last in the standings with just a single point to his name.
This led people on social media and other platforms to mockingly call him the “GOAT of motorsports” and “Lord Mahaveer.” But as they say, the comeback is always stronger than the setback. Today, Raghunathan finds himself competing in the Italian GT Championship with AF Corse in the Pro-Am class — and enjoying success.
Raghunathan capped off his 2025 season in the GT Championship with a P1 finish in Race 2 and an overall P6 in the standings.
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