Tatiana Calderon

Tatiana Calderon Noguera is a Colombian female racing driver who currently serves as a test driver for Alfa Romeo Racing F1 Team, as the only women in the premier open-wheel racing competition.

On her way to Formula 1, Tatiana spent nine seasons in different single-seater competitions, starting with Star Mazda Championship in 2010 and competing in European F3 Open, British and European Formula 3 Championship, MRF Challenge Formula 2000, Euroformula, Formula V8 3.5, GP3 Series and FIA Formula 2 Championship.

Tatiana Calderon

Success in kart racing

Born in March 1993, Tatiana began race karts in 2003 and over the years progressed through the ranks at the national level. Tatiana was 2005-2006 Easykart National Championship winner, while during the next season she finished 3rd in the Colombian National Kart Championship. She also competed in the Rotax Max Grand Finals in the UAE as the National champion in the Junior Max class and was the only girl in the field. She also continued to compete in Stars of Karting in the US.

Tatiana Calderón debuted in karting racing in 2003

When she was only 14, Calderon enjoyed the first season in cars racing alongside her sister Paula, competing in the National Endurance Championship, finishing third, while next year they were vice-champions, sharing the seat of KIA Picanto.

The stream of good results continued in 2008 when Tatiana became the first woman to win a National Karting title in the US, taking the JICA Junior championship in Stars of Karting’s East Division. After winning another national karting title in the Rotax Junior Max class, Calderon qualified for the international Grand Final in Egypt. The same year Tatiana finished as a runner-up in the Radical European Masters which was a preparation for a new level of her career.

Switch to single-seaters

In 2010, Tatiana debuted in Star Mazda Championship. She spent two years driving for Juncos Racing and did considerably well. During her first season in the series, Calderon finished 10th overall, while in 2011 she moved up to the 6th place after scoring two podiums, at Barber Motorsports Park and Mosport, becoming the first girl in the series who has achieved that.

Tatiana Calderón, Juncos Racing, Star Mazda Championship

The same year Tatiana also competed with the British Team West-Tec in the last three rounds of European Formula 3 Open Championship which was a good overture for the following year. In 2012, she signed with the Spanish team Emilio de Villota Motorsport and after 16 races took the 9th position in the championship.

Debut in the European Formula 3 Championship

Colombian driver moved to the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in 2013. Calderon signed with Double R Racing team from the UK but failed to impress as she finished the season without a single point. However, with the same team, Tatiana also competed in 12 races of the British Formula 3 and did much better. She scored a podium finish at Nurburgring before taking the 7th place overall. Tatiana also became the first girl in the series who scored a podium finish.

Tania Calderon as a Mucke Motorsport driver

Calderon competed in European Formula 3 in 2014, this time driving for Mucke Motorsport. Now the results were somewhat better after she managed to pick a total of 27 points which propelled her to the 15th position overall. Tatiana’s best result that year was the 5th place in the second run at Spa.

MRF Challenge Formula 2000 runner-up

In 2015, her last season in the series, Tatiana drove for Carlin but surprisingly wasn’t able to continue her progress. Calderon didn’t score points in 33 races, which was totally unexpected, so she left the championship at the end of the campaign due to new sporting regulations introduced by the FIA that limits drivers to three complete seasons in European F3.

Tatiana Calderon was the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 series runner-up

However, the consolation was in MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship in which she finished as a runner-up, behind Pietro Fittipaldi. Calderon won the race at Dubai Autodrome and had other six podiums which helped her to regain confidence.

The GP3 Series debut in 2016

In 2016, Tatiana debuted in the GP3 Series with Arden International. Her first year in the new environment was pretty hard. She earned only two points, thanks to the 10th place finishes at Hockenheim and Monza, and eventually took the 21st position in the Drivers’ championship.

The same year Calderon also drove with a considerable success for Teo Martin Motorsport in Euroformula Open, as well as in the Spanish Formula 3 which helped her to pick more experience.

Calderon debuted in GP3 Series in 2016

Joining Sauber F1 Team in 2017, test driver since 2018

In 2017, Colombian girl was driving for DAMS in GP3 Series, joined RP Motorsport in one round of the World Series Formula V8 3.5 but also joined Sauber F1 Team as a development driver. A year later, she was promoted to a position of test driver for Sauber.

He continued to race in the GP3 Series with Jenzer Motorspot, not scoring wins or podiums in 18 races to finish 16th in the points. In 2019, she stayed with Sauber (renamed to Alfa Romeo Racing) and made a step up to the FIA Formula 2 Championship. She scored no points in Formula 2.

In 2018, Tatiana has been named as official test driver for Sauber F1 Team

Debuting at Daytona and Le Mans in 2020

In 2020, Tatiana stayed with Alfa Romeo Racing in Formula One. Outside open-wheel racing, she made a debut at Daytona 24 Hours and will also make a debut at 24 Hours of Le Mans in June.

Photo: tatianacalderon.com, automobilsport.com, gp3series.com