Tatiana Calderón facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal family name is Calderón and the second or maternal family name is Noguera.

Quick facts for kids

Tatiana Calderón

Calderón in 2017

Nationality

Colombian

Born

10 March 1993 (age 32)
Bogotá, Colombia

IMSA SportsCar Championship career

Debut season

2024

Current team

Gradient Racing

Racing licence

FIA Silver

Former teams

GEAR Racing powered by GRT Grasser

Starts

Championships

Wins

Podiums

Poles

Fastest laps

Best finish

41st in 2020

Previous series

2023
2022
2020–21
2019
2016–18<
2015–16
2013–15
2013
2011–13
2010–11

European Le Mans Series
IndyCar Series
Super Formula Championship
FIA Formula 2 Championship
GP3 Series
MRF Challenge
FIA European F3
British F3 Championship
European F3 Open
Pro Mazda Championship

IndyCar Series career

7 races run over 1 year

2022 position

29th

Best finish

29th (2022)

First race

2022 Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg (St. Petersburg)

Last race

2022 Honda Indy 200 (Mid-Ohio)

Wins	Podiums	Poles
0	0	0

Tatiana Calderón Noguera (born March 10, 1993) is a Colombian racing driver. She currently competes in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Gradient Racing. Tatiana has driven in many different racing series around the world.

Tatiana started racing go-karts when she was nine years old. She was the first woman to win national karting championships in Colombia and the United States. She later moved on to car racing. Tatiana was also the first woman to get on the podium in the British Formula 3 International Series. She was also the first to lead a lap in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship. From 2018 to 2021, she was a test driver for the Sauber Formula One team.

Tatiana's Early Life and Family
Starting in Karting (2002–2008)
Junior Racing Career
- Open-Wheel Racing Beginnings (2009–2014)
- GP3 Series and Formula One Testing (2015–2018)
Top-Level Racing Career
Tatiana's Driving Style
Images for kids
See also

Tatiana's Early Life and Family

Tatiana Calderón was born in Bogotá, Colombia, on March 10, 1993. Her parents are Alberto Calderón Palau and María Clara Noguera Calderón. Her family owns a car dealership in Bogotá.

Tatiana has an older sister, Paula, who helps manage her racing career. She also has a younger brother, Felipe. Tatiana went to school in Bogotá from 1997 to 2011. She learned English and German, along with her native Spanish. She often missed school for racing, but she always kept up with her studies. Before racing, Tatiana played football, tennis, field hockey, golf, and even tried horse riding. She decided to focus on motor racing when she was nine. Since 2012, she has lived in Madrid, Spain.

Starting in Karting (2002–2008)

Tatiana first drove a car at age four, sitting on her father's lap. Her sister introduced her to racing. At nine, she started driving go-karts at a track near her home in Bogotá. She and her sister went to the track every day after school and on weekends.

Around age ten, Tatiana began thinking seriously about a racing career. She convinced her father to buy her a go-kart and a small motorcycle. Her father taught her about how cars work. Tatiana's mother was worried about racing being too dangerous. But she later supported Tatiana, as long as she kept good grades. Tatiana was inspired by famous racers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Ayrton Senna.

When she started winning, other male racers sometimes tried to push her off the track. Tatiana learned to push back to show them she wouldn't give up. In 2005, she won the EasyKart National Championship. This made her the first woman to win a national karting title in Colombia. The next year, she was second in that championship. She also won the Rotax Junior Division in the Colombian Kart Championship.

At 14, Tatiana drove her first racing car, a Kia Picanto, with her sister. In 2008, she became the first woman to win the Snap-On-Stars of Karting Divisional Championship. This made her the first woman champion of a national American karting series.

Junior Racing Career

Open-Wheel Racing Beginnings (2009–2014)

After her karting success, Tatiana decided to focus on racing instead of going to university. In 2009, she started racing sports cars. She finished second in the Radical European Master Series, winning one race and getting on the podium ten times.

At 17, Tatiana moved to open-wheel racing in the Star Mazda Championship in 2010. She finished in the top ten five times. In 2011, she got two third-place finishes. These were the first podiums for a woman in Star Mazda Championship history.

In 2012, she raced in the 2012 European F3 Open Championship. She finished in the top ten eight times. She also drove in the 6 Hours of Bogotá race, finishing third overall.

In 2013, Tatiana joined Double R Racing for the FIA Formula 3 European Championship and the British Formula 3 International Series. She became the first woman to stand on the overall podium in British Formula 3 history with a third-place finish at the Nürburgring.

Competing for Jo Zeller Racing at the Hockenheimring in 2014

In 2014, Tatiana won her first open-wheel race at Sebring International Raceway in the Florida Winter Series. She finished fifth in that championship. Later that year, she joined Jo Zeller Racing for the 2014 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. She often scored points and finished 15th overall. In November, Tatiana became the first woman to race in the 2014 Macau Grand Prix since 1983.

GP3 Series and Formula One Testing (2015–2018)

Calderón as a Carlin driver in 2015

In late 2014, famous driver Susie Wolff started helping Tatiana. In 2015, Tatiana raced in the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. She briefly led a race at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, becoming the first woman to lead a race in that series.

From 2015 to 2016, she raced in the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship. She was known for her daring overtaking moves. She won a race at the Dubai Autodrome and finished second in the championship.

In 2016, Tatiana moved to the 2016 GP3 Series with Arden International. She was the first woman to drive for that team. She scored points by finishing tenth twice. At the end of 2016, Tatiana started working for the Sauber Formula One team as a development driver. She tested in their simulator and joined them at races.

In 2017, she continued in the 2017 GP3 Series with DAMS. She had a best finish of seventh. Later that year, she got a third-place finish in the 2017 World Series Formula V8 3.5, which was the first podium for a woman in that series.

Driving for Jenzer Motorsport at the Red Bull Ring in 2018.

In 2018, Tatiana joined Jenzer Motorsport for the 2018 GP3 Series. Sauber also made her their test driver. Her performance improved, and she scored 11 points. On October 30, she drove Sauber's C37 Formula One car. This made her the first Latin American woman to drive a Formula One car. A month later, she tested an older Formula One car, the C32.

Top-Level Racing Career

FIA Formula 2 and Other Series (2019–Present)

Calderon at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round with BWT Arden

In 2019, Tatiana returned to Arden for the 2019 Formula 2 Championship. She became the first woman to drive in this series. The Alfa Romeo Racing team kept her as their test driver. At the Baku feature race, Tatiana became the first woman to lead a lap in Formula 2 history. She finished 11th as her best result that year.

After Formula 2, Tatiana looked for new challenges. She joined the Super Formula Championship with Drago Corse in Japan for the 2020 season. She also stayed with Alfa Romeo as a test driver and ambassador. In 2020, she also raced in the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona and the European Le Mans Series. She made her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, finishing ninth in her class.

In 2021, Tatiana continued in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the Super Formula Championship. She also remained an Alfa Romeo test driver.

IndyCar Series Experience

Calderón during the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

In July 2021, Tatiana tested an A. J. Foyt Racing IndyCar. She impressed the team and was considered for a full-time spot. In 2022, she signed to drive for A. J. Foyt Enterprises in the 2022 IndyCar Series. She raced in 12 street and road course events. Tatiana found it challenging to adapt to new tracks and the physically demanding car. After seven races, she had to stop due to sponsorship issues. She finished 29th in the standings.

In August 2022, Tatiana joined Charouz Racing System for the last four rounds of the 2022 Formula 2 Championship. She injured her right hand in a crash and spent two months recovering. She finished the year without scoring points.

Tatiana left Charouz Racing System at the end of 2022 because she didn't have enough sponsorship to continue in Formula One support series or IndyCar.

Sports Car Racing Focus

Tatiana has continued to focus on sports car racing. In 2023, she raced in the LMP2 Pro-Am class of the European Le Mans Series with Team Virage. She finished 16th in the championship and earned one pole position.

In 2024, Tatiana joined Gradient Racing to compete in the GTD category of the IMSA SportsCar Championship. She raced an Acura NSX GT3 Evo22 in five endurance races. She finished 41st in the class standings. For the 2025 season, she continues with Gradient Racing, driving a Ford Mustang GT3.

Tatiana's Driving Style

Tatiana describes herself as a smooth driver. She feels she performs better in more powerful cars and in wet weather. Since women generally have less muscle mass than men, she trains very hard. This helps her handle the high forces in a racing car. She has said that she increased her neck thickness by about 9 centimeters (3.5 inches) to deal with the strong g-force in a Formula One car.

Tatiana is 163 centimeters (5 feet 4 inches) tall. This means she sometimes finds it hard to get the best angle and power from her arms. She also had to adjust her car pedals to be more comfortable while steering.