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Starting out in Karts, finishing eighth in the 1999 Formula A World Cup, in 2001 Jose Maria switched to single-seaters, moving to Europe to take part in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup with Lucidi Motorsport.
The following season he remained in the Formula Renault 2.0 Eurocup but moved to Cram Competition while also contesting Formula Renault 2.0 Italy. In the European series Jose Maria finished fourth overall, however, 4 wins in 10 races saw him prove victorious in the Italian championship, beating off future F1 star Robert Kubica.
For 2003 he moved up to the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup with DAMS. In 18 races he made it the podium on 12 occasions, 5 of them seeing the Argentine youngster on the top step.
In December 2003, Jose Maria made his F1 debut, testing for both Renault and Minardi. At Vallelunga, driving the Minardi, the Argentine was only 0.3s off the pace of another young hopeful trying out for the Faenza team, future Renault and McLaren driver Heikki Kovalainen.
He moved up to F3000 International in 2004 finishing sixth overall with CMS Performance, he also contested 4 rounds of the Formula Renault V6 Eurocup with DAMS again but with little success.
Remaining with DAMS, Jose Maria contested the inaugural GP2 championship in 2005 finishing ninth overall while also testing for the Renault F1 team at Barcelona in November.
Impressed with his progress Renault signed Jose Maria as one of its test drivers for 2006, the Argentine racer subsequently taking part in both Jerez tests.
In GP2, where he had now moved to Super Nova, Jose Maria made three trips to the podium on his way to finishing tenth in the championship.
In early 2007, Jose Maria competed in the American Le Mans Series, driving the Corsa Motorsports/White Lightning Ferrari at Sebring. He subsequently returned to Argentina where he contested the TC 2000 series, the country's touring car championship.
With 3 race wins, Jose Maria finished fifth overall, however, the following season, driving for Honda Petrobras, he secured the tile.
In addition to TC 2000, in 2008 Jose Maria contested the Turismo Carretera Argentina and 4 rounds of the FIA GT Championship in which he drove a Ferrari 550 for Escuderia ACA Argentina.
In 2009, Jos Maria was even busier. In addition to successfully defending his TC 2000 crown, he also contested the Turismo Carretera Argentina series and Top Race V6 Argentina.
While he was doing well in Argentina, Jose Maria wanted to be in F1 and the arrival of four new teams for the 2010 season obviously presented the best opportunity.
In late 2009, with the backing of a number of personal sponsors and support from former F1 star turned politician, Carlos Reuteman, Jose Maria began negotiations with US F1. Although the team was adamant that it was seeking an all-American line-up it soon became clear that the Argentine's £5m budget might tip the favour in his favour.
Originally, when asked about taking on a pay driver, far less a foreign pay driver, US F1 co-founder Peter Windsor said: "There are very good American drivers out there. To be honest, shame on Formula One and shame on American motorsport that some of these great young Americans with single-seater talent have not been nurtured more and given more opportunity.
"We've been offered well over three-quarters of our racing budget by two drivers already," he added, "neither of whom have raced in Formula One but both have won races in GP2. Both of them have massive sponsorship they can bring us from their home country. Ken Anderson and I have got to be very strong, look one another in the eye and say, 'No, we're not going to accept that money, we're not going to hire those guys because we're going to remain true to our convictions'."
It wasn't long before the Australian changed his tune, telling Autosport in November: "I would be very happy if he raced with us next year. He's not just another driver on the list. Jose is more than that. He is a driver we are interested in and we want him to be with us. We would like to sign the contract as soon as possible."
The contract was signed on 25 January and confirmed by the President of Argentina, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in Buenos Aires.
"This is a truly memorable day for me, my family and the people of Argentina," said Lopez. "I have been working towards this day for much of my life and I can't thank Peter and Ken enough for this opportunity. Of course a new F1 team faces many challenges but our goal is to improve with each race and build a foundation that will eventually see this team competing for wins and championships."
However, in the weeks that followed it was clear that all was not well with US F1, and while 'insiders' issued the occasional soundbite, insisting that all was going to plan, Lopez and his management feared it was not.
As speculation reached fever pitch, with main sponsor, Swiss finance group Locstein, ending its agreement with the team, Lopez and his manager, Felipe McGough, headed to Europe for talks with Bernie Ecclestone and Campos Meta.
On Wednesday March 3, the FIA issued the definitive entry list for 2010 and US F1 wasn't on it, though team bosses at the American team never had the good grace to make the announcement themselves, instead asking the FIA if the entry could be deferred to 2011.
As McGough searched, ultimately in vain, for an alternative seat for Jose Maria, he pointed an accusing finger at the American team's co-founder. "The main culprit is Ken Anderson," he told Argentine radio station Cadena 3 Cordoba. "He deceived the FIA, FOTA, FOM and broke the Concorde Agreement."
An attempt to secure a test role with Hispania Racing - which had risen from the flames of Campos Meta - failed, leaving Jose Maria out of a drive and Argentina dwelling on what might have been.
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