Women in Motorsport: Tatiana Calderón

An interview with accomplished racing driver Tatiana Calderón!

Tatiana is a 27 year old racer from Colombia. She competes in single seat racing with the ThreeBond Drago Corse Team and in endurance racing with the Richard Mille Racing Team. She works directly with the FIA’s Women in Motorsport Commission to increase female participation in international motorsports. She’s also the test driver for the Alfa Romeo Racing Orlen F1 team!. Her tools of the trade are a Super Formula and an Oreca-LMP2.

We reached out to see if she was interested in answering a few questions for us and she was more than happy to participate! Here are her responses.

How did you get started in racing?

“I started when I was 9 years old. My sister took me to a rental go kart track close to where we used to live in Colombia and I fall in love with the sport, the adrenaline. I found early my passion and decided to pursue a career in motorsport.”

Who inspired you to start racing?

“Juan Pablo Montoya. I watched him racing and wining in the different series he raced and he inspired me to chase my dream.”

What challenges have you faced as a woman trying to find your way in the sport?

“Unfortunately many different challenges, having the opportunity to race for a top team, having the credibility from the people I work with, the lack of adjustment possibilities in the cars as we have different measurements compared to men, plus we have less lean muscles so we definitely have to workout more to level the field.”

What are your goals behind the wheel and off the track?

“My goal is always to win, but not everything is under your control so I try to focus on arrived as prepared as possible to the racetrack. Off track I focus a lot on my physical training as it is very important to be able to perform. I also work a lot on my social media and different activities to promote my image as it is a very important part today. My mental training I also dedicate a lot of time to it as I think motorsport is very demanding on that area, not only due to the pressure we are expose as an athlete but also requires a lot of attention, reaction, multitasking and we can train all of it.”

What is your favorite vehicle you’ve raced?

“The one I have driven definitely the F1, but the one I have raced I would say the Super Formula as it is very similar to the F1 in terms of downforce and speed.”