Tatiana Calderón facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Tatiana Calderón
Calderón in 2017
Nationality	Colombian
Born	(1993-03-10) 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	6
Championships	0
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
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 10 March 1993) is a Colombian racing driver. She currently competes in the 2025 IMSA SportsCar Championship for Gradient Racing. Tatiana has made history as a woman in motorsports. She was the first woman to lead a lap in FIA Formula 3 European Championship. She was also the first woman to stand on the podium in the British Formula 3 International Series.

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 has a background in car dealerships.

Tatiana has an older sister, Paula, and a younger brother, Felipe. Paula helps manage Tatiana's racing career. Tatiana went to school at Colegio Helvetia in Bogotá. She learned English and German, along with her native Spanish. She balanced her schoolwork with her racing, sometimes missing weeks of classes. Before racing, Tatiana played many sports. These included football, tennis, field hockey, golf, and horse riding.

Karting career (2002–2008)

Tatiana first drove a car at age four. She sat on her father's lap and held the steering wheel. When she was nine, her sister introduced her to go-karts. They went to a rental track near their home often. By age ten, Tatiana started thinking seriously about a racing career.

Her 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 drivers like Juan Pablo Montoya and Ayrton Senna.

Tatiana faced tough competition from male rivals. She learned to be strong and fight back on the track. 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 runner-up in the same championship. She also won the Rotax Junior Division in the Colombian Kart Championship.

In 2008, Tatiana made history again. She became the first woman to win the Snap-On-Stars of Karting Divisional Championship. This was a national American karting series.

Junior racing career

Starting in open-wheel racing (2009–2014)

After her karting success, Tatiana decided to focus on racing. She chose not to go to university right away. In 2009, she started racing sports cars. She finished second in the Radical European Master Series. She had one win and ten podium finishes.

At 17, Tatiana moved to open-wheel racing. This means cars with open wheels, like Formula One cars. She joined the Star Mazda Championship in 2010. She finished in the top ten five times.

Competing for Jo Zeller Racing at the Hockenheimring in 2014

In 2011, Tatiana got two third-place finishes in the Star Mazda Championship. These were at Barber Motorsports Park and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park. This made her the first woman to reach the podium in the series. She also raced in the European F3 Open Championship.

In 2012, she raced the full European F3 Open Championship. She finished in the top ten eight times. Tatiana also started working with racer Andy Soucek to improve her skills.

For the 2013 season, she joined Double R Racing. She raced in both 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. This was with a third-place finish at the Nürburgring.

During the 2014 Florida Winter Series, Tatiana won her first open-wheel race. This was at Sebring International Raceway. She finished fifth in the championship. Later that year, she became the first woman to race in the Macau Grand Prix since 1983. She finished 13th in this important race.

GP3 Series and Formula 2 (2015–2019)

Calderón as a Carlin driver in 2015

In late 2014, famous driver Susie Wolff started to guide Tatiana. Tatiana joined Carlin for the 2015 FIA Formula 3 European Championship. She briefly led a race at Spa-Francorchamps. This made her the first woman to lead a race in that series.

Tatiana then raced in the MRF Challenge Formula 2000 Championship. She was known for her daring overtaking moves. She won a race at the Dubai Autodrome. She finished second overall in the championship.

In 2016, Tatiana moved to the GP3 Series with Arden International. She was the team's first woman driver. She scored points with two tenth-place finishes. She also worked as a development driver for the Sauber Formula One team. She tested in their simulator and joined them at races.

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

In 2017, she continued in the GP3 Series. She also got her first podium finish in the World Series Formula V8 3.5. This was another first for a woman in that series.

In 2018, Sauber made Tatiana their test driver. She drove their C37 Formula One car. This made her the first Latin American woman to drive a Formula One car. She also tested an electric car for Formula E.

Calderon at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round with BWT Arden

In 2019, Tatiana joined the FIA Formula 2 Championship. She was the first woman to race in this series. She also remained a test driver for Alfa Romeo Racing. At the Baku feature race, she became the first woman to lead a lap in Formula 2 history.

IndyCar and SportsCar racing

Tatiana tested an IndyCar for A. J. Foyt Enterprises in 2021. She impressed the team with her driving.

Calderón during the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

In 2022, she signed to race in the IndyCar Series. She drove in 12 street and road course races. She found it challenging to adapt to new tracks and cars. After seven races, she had to stop due to sponsorship issues. She finished 29th in the standings. Later that year, she joined Charouz Racing System for some Formula 2 races. She injured her hand in an accident and spent time recovering.

Tatiana also started racing in SportsCar events. In 2020, she raced in the 2020 24 Hours of Daytona. She also competed in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) with an all-female team. She made her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, finishing ninth in her class.

In 2021, she raced in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). She continued to drive for Richard Mille Racing. She also remained a test driver for Alfa Romeo.

For the 2023 ELMS season, Tatiana joined Team Virage. She finished 16th in her class. In 2024, she joined Gradient Racing to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.

Driving style and training

Tatiana describes herself as a smooth driver. She feels she performs better in powerful cars and wet weather. To handle high-performance racing cars, she trains very hard. Women generally have less muscle than men. So, Tatiana works intensely to build strength. She even increased her neck thickness by 9 cm (3.5 inches). This helps her deal with the strong g-force in a Formula One car.

Her height of 163 cm (5 ft 4 in) can make it tricky to find the perfect driving position. She has worked on adjusting her car pedals to be more comfortable.

Career summary

^† As Calderón was a guest driver, she was ineligible for points. * Season still in progress.

Images for kids

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  Tatiana Calderón in 2017

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  Tatiana Calderón competing for Jo Zeller Racing at the Hockenheimring in 2014

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  Tatiana Calderón as a Carlin driver in 2015

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  Tatiana Calderón driving for Jenzer Motorsport at the Red Bull Ring in 2018.

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  Tatiana Calderón during the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach

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  Tatiana Calderón at the 2019 Spielberg Formula 2 round with BWT Arden

See also

In Spanish: Tatiana Calderón para niños