Tatiana Calderon is a 24 year old Colombian female race who
has defied stereotypes to become a well-known and respected name in the single
seater categories. I point out the fact
she is female is because in the past few years women in motorsport has just
exploded on social media and within the sport itself. Calderon became the first
female driver to race for Arden in their 19 year history when she joined the
team in 2016 to race in GP3. Prior to this, Calderon contested in the British
Formula 3 season in 2013 with Double R Racing and finished third at the
Nurburgring, becoming the first and only woman (so far) to stand on the podium
in that series.
I had the pleasure of asking Calderon all sorts of
questions, to her working with the Sauber F1 team, her inspirations and her
racing career.
Sian Williams: Tell us about your experiences racing in GP3
and European F3. What are the main differences and what have you learnt from
them?
Tatiana Calderon: ‘I think they’re both great series’; both
completely different. A F3 car has a lot of downforce and less power and when I
raced in the series they had Hankook tyres which don’t have a noticeable peak
performance. You also have less track time and two qualifying sessions. GP3 is
more powerful and not so much downforce, so they carry less speed through the
corners. Pirelli tyres have a very clear peak performance so there is no second
chance, you have to do it in one lap. It is demanding and with one qualifying
and one practice session you have to adapt very quickly. You also race in front
of an F1 crowd and I would say it brings extra pressure on everyone’
SW: How did it feel to score points for the first time in
GP3?
TC: ‘It was amazing, I had been so close before so it was a
relief.’
SW: What got you into karting and racing when you were
younger?
TC: ‘My sister asked me to join her to the rental go karts
we had near our house and we loved the feeling of adrenaline. We went a lot of
times straight after school until the guys from the rental track let us try and
real racing kart and we worked really hard to convince our parents. That’s how everything
started.’
SW: Do you see yourself working for Sauber long-term?
TC: ‘Yes, I would love to continue in the team. They have a
lot of history in F1 and have brought up world champions so they know how to
work with young drivers. The atmosphere is great and I get along really well
with the people and it is incredible how much I learnt from them last year.’
SW: Do you think you have ever been treated different
because you are a woman who races?
TC: ‘I would like to say no but they definitely treat you
different. The people you work with sometimes don’t believe you are capable and
you have to prove yourself. They do not always listen to your feedback because
they think you don’t know enough. At the race track it is also different as
guys don’t want to be beaten by a girl, so I also believe it is harder for us
to overtake. But I kind of like this challenge and slowly times are changing.
We need to change the perception and that women can drive. We need to prove them wrong so they can change their
perceptions.’
SW: How hard do you have to work to keep fit mentally and
prepare yourself for the racing season?
TC: ‘You have to work really hard. As a woman, you have 30% less
muscle mass than men and for example GP3 has no power steering, the steering
wheel is really heavy. Some say even more than the F2 so training is key in
performance. Mentally as well it is a demanding sport so I also dedicate a lot
of time to it. You have to do so many things at 300km/h that you have to keep sharp.’
SW: Who is your biggest inspiration and what keeps you
motivated?
TC: ‘I started racing watching Montoya winning so for sure
he has been an inspiration to me. Also when I moved to Europe and found out
Susie Wolff had become Williams test driver it empowered me to keep fighting
for what I have always wanted.’
SW: What advice would you give young girls who want to race
and have people telling them they cant because they are female?
TC: ‘I would say to then that dreams don’t have limits, no
matter what people say. If you truly want something, just go for it.’
SW: What is one saying you live by?’
TC: ‘Impossible is nothing’
Just from these questions alone you can see Calderon is not
only inspired by people before herself, but also an inspiration to younger
generations. She is making her mark in motorsport and I think she is proving
people wrong. If you want to witness what Calderon can do then you are in luck,
she has recently confirmed she will be continuing in GP3 racing for Jenzer Motorsport.
Big thank you to Tatiana Calderon for taking the time to
answer these questions and good luck for the season this year.
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