Tatiana Calderon, Sauber, 2017

Calderon promoted to test driver at Sauber

2018 F1 season

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Tatiana Calderon has been promoted from development driver to test driver at Sauber, the team has announced.

Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari, Circuit de Catalunya, 2018
2018 pre-season testing day five in pictures
The 24-year-old’s role will involve simulator sessions, coaching and working with the team during some grand prix weekends.

Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur said Calderon is “a very hard-working person who has impressed the team with her focus and dedication.”

“She has made good progress as a driver, developing both her mental and physical capacities continuously over the past few years,” he added.

Calderon will spend her third season in GP3 this year having finished 18th in the series in 2017. She moved into the category after finishing second to Pietro Fittipaldi in the 2015-16 MRF Challenge.

“I would like to thank the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team for this marvelous opportunity, which would not have been possible without the long-term support that I am receiving from Escuderia Telmex,” said Calderon. “I look forward to this season, and will give my all to demonstrate my capabilities in both GP3 and Formula 1.”

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Author information

Keith Collantine
Lifelong motor sport fan Keith set up RaceFans in 2005 - when it was originally called F1 Fanatic. Having previously worked as a motoring...

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55 comments on “Calderon promoted to test driver at Sauber”

  1. OmarRoncal - Go Seb!!! (@)
    6th March 2018, 14:39

    In your face Carmen!!!

    1. @omarr-pepper – LOL, it’s almost as if Sauber waited for Carmen Jorda to make her comments before announcing this.

      Best wishes to Tatiana, and I wish that she brings the performance that encourages and inspires other racers.

    2. I expected Sauber to issue a quick retraction stating that Carmen said it can’t be done so we’ll promote a man and Tatiana will be relegated to serving drinks in the hospitality suite.

      I wish her the best and some practice sessions.

    3. I think Keith should rename this site again. He should change it to something like Vox, or CNN or some other left wing, social justice love in.

      I seriously can’t believe the amount of virtue signalling try hards who are saying how good this is. She finished her SECOND year in GP3 in 18th place – EIGHTEENTH PLACE!!

      There is no way she deserves this promotion. It’s a total joke.

      The worst thing about all of this – it’s PURE sexism. This promotion achieves the very opposite of what it’s trying to do. After seeing her results in GP3, people KNOW that she was only promoted because she sits down to pee. Pure and utter sexism.

      I thought the point of feminism was to treat men and women EQUALLY. This is the exact opposite.

      The only people who should be anywhere near an F1 car are people who’ve proven they are capable – this goes for all the little rich boys who’ve bought their seat as well!

      Disgraceful!

      Having said all that, now that she’s there I do wish her well. I guess we’d all grab a chance at having a go if it was offered to us. So to be clear to all the SJW’s that clearly populate this site – I’m not blaming her, just sick of this PC nonsense!

      1. Where did you read a glowing review of her resume in this article? This is thz type of laconic article we get for all 3rd driver announcements. And I must say like most of those announcements I am not overwhelmed by the talent potential here.

      2. The point of feminism was never about equality. Do some research. Margeret Sanger started Planned Parenthood as a eugenics program to weed out “undesirable” races in America. Early feminist leaders didn’t want the “brown beasts” to get voting rights before white women, if at all. The “worship women” movement has been in full swing, since the late 1800s to the present.

  2. Really hope she gets some decent mileage in at least a recent F1 car, if not this season’s car.

  3. Nail polish is for the weak! —or at least the slow!

    Bravo Sauber!

  4. It bothers me that Sauber seems to be getting away with ostentatively employing her for simulator work when they don’t even have a simulator.
    I’ll change my opinion when they actually let her test one of their cars, but for the time being, I can’t shake the impression that they’re fooling the public with a made-up job description. In my opinion, employing a female driver for the sole purpose of being able to say “we’re employing a female driver”, while not actually letting her do anything important, is worse than not employing a female driver at all.

    1. Sauber or her sponsor are making an extra pile of cash based on her gender that’s all it is.

    2. Lewisham Milton
      6th March 2018, 19:22

      Sauber are ahead of the game: they have a simulation of a simulator.

    3. @nase: “It bothers me that Sauber seems to be getting away with ostentatively employing her for simulator work when they don’t even have a simulator.”

      Is that true? I was only able to find a 2015 article in which Kaltenborn was saying that Saber were looking into building their own simulator.
      So… nothing came of it?

      1. I’ve never heard anything to the effect that they’ve actually started working on it. There’s an active job posting at Sauber that sounds a bit like they’re still looking for someone who could help them get started.

  5. At least Carmen Jorda is faster in a bikini!

  6. Based on her results so far, it’s not unfair to say that Calderon is clearly not of a standard to race in Formula One, but I think this is good news for the sport in general and helps to address a wider issue.

    To see more female drivers in the sport, Formula One needs to start attracting girls when they are 6-8 years old, so that they get into karting and hone their skills from an early age. The pot from which the talent is selected is then wider and talented young women will eventually rise to the top. For young girls to get into karting, it’s important that they see people like Suzie Wolff, Simona de Silvestro, Tatiana Calderon and the like in driving roles in Formula One, to show them that it is possible. No, they’re not racing at the minute, but one day in the next 10-20 years it’s entirely possible that the first female Grand Prix winner will point to Wolff or Calderon as one of her inspirations for entering her first kart race.

    1. At least she got a few points in GP3, unlike a certain Carmen…

    2. What issue? Females choosing not to go into Motorsport is not an issue. Don’t force women to do what most don’t want just like you wouldn’t force men to do dance, ballet, cheerleading, netball, sewing, knitting, art etc. Females in general don’t go into Motorsport, again, in general, because it isn’t something that appeals to their nature. It’s not because they are told ‘it’s not for you, only men can do that’.

      Men and women are different. Why can’t people accept that?

      Sure some go against the norm in some ways. Like my sister. She’s into cars like me. But try to explain how an engine works she won’t be interested. She’s not into f1. Nor any form of Motorsport. She’s just into road cars and high performance cars which sound nice (audi RS models and some supercars) she loves to drive. But ask her if she wants to go go karting she will say no. She doesn’t like racing, simple as. I think this is because both me and her were brought up (in part) by a car fanatic (and F1 fan) uncle. But she’s a woman and I’m a man. We’re biologically different so even though the environment we grew up in was the same in terms of the amount of emphasis and exposure to racing, I’m all into racing and F1 and even sim racing, but her interest stops at road cars. She’s into driving. Give her euro truck and she loves it. (the driving aspect only haha).

      I mentioned all this to point out the differences (in my experience) between two people, different genders, having been exposed to the same level of car fanaticism and racing environment. Of course I’m a man and hence I’m into things which mostly men are into like tech, software, engineering, cars, racing, drones, cubing, etc. Although she shares to an extent my liking for cars, she’s a woman and hence its no surprise she’s into things which woman are into like crochet, knitting, sewing, kids, cooking, cleaning, arts and crafts etc.

      Just my 2p

      1. Art? Most men don’t like art? Seriously?

        1. I thought the same when he said “software” lol

          1. That desperate little rant was the funniest thing I’ve read today.

            Gracias.

        2. @alonshow

          He said arts and crafts, not art; which is not the same thing.

          1. Don’t force women to do what most don’t want just like you wouldn’t force men to do dance, ballet, cheerleading, netball, sewing, knitting, art etc.

      2. Where to start..

        What issue? Females choosing not to go into Motorsport is not an issue. Don’t force women to do what most don’t want just like you wouldn’t force men to do dance, ballet, cheerleading, netball, sewing, knitting, art etc.

        It’s not (and has never been) about forcing women to do anything. Its about removing barriers that negatively affect one gender over the other, something that dance, ballet, cheerleading, netball, sewing and knitting could all do with too (art is just ridiculous, why do you think men don’t do art?)

        Men and women are different. Why can’t people accept that?

        I think everyone accepts there are differences between men and women on various levels. That doesn’t mean everything can be attributed to those differences. Certainly the body of your post is more about gender stereotyping than the biological difference between men and women.

        I mentioned all this to point out the differences (in my experience) between two people, different genders, having been exposed to the same level of car fanaticism and racing environment. Of course I’m a man and hence I’m into things which mostly men are into like tech, software, engineering, cars, racing, drones, cubing, etc. Although she shares to an extent my liking for cars, she’s a woman and hence its no surprise she’s into things which woman are into like crochet, knitting, sewing, kids, cooking, cleaning, arts and crafts etc.

        So. Much. Facepalm

        This is exactly the problem. People like you teaching young children how different genders “should” behave, perpetuating gender stereotyping. Boys play with toy cars and girls play with dolls. Are you really surprised that girls have a lack of interest in racing when they are taught growing up that its not for them? Are you really surprised that boys have a lack of interest in dancing when they are taught that it is “girly” and they will be mocked if they do so? (for more information see “Billy Elliot” [2000] )

        Like my sister…….

        You should look into anecdotal evidence but anyway…. Well done! You have discovered the concept of 2 different people having different likes and dislikes. You have zero evidence for this being because of gender. You said:

        We’re biologically different so even though the environment we grew up in was the same in terms of the amount of emphasis and exposure to racing

        But was it really though? Throughout your childhood meticulously tracked yours and your sisters emphasis and exposure to racing from your family and friends, broadcast and print media, films and TV and concluded that they were identical.

        Frankly I don’t believe you.

        This is the problem with gender stereotyping its self fulfilling. When I was growing up me and my dad watched F1 together (we still do). I firmly believe my love of F1 came from this. My sister doesn’t care about F1. Is that because of gender? Or is it because, unlike with me, my Dad made no attempt to engage with my sister using F1 as it’s “for boys not girls”. Gender stereotyping casually passed around and enforced without thought or intent.

        … As an aside the reason gird girls were bad and its a good thing they are gone is not because it was some how exploitative, that girls were being forced to parade around in skimpy outfits against their will or that it is somehow a bad thing for women to be beautiful. There were bad because of what the practice was saying about the place of women in the sport. Boys growing up can watch F1 and aspire to be racing drivers or engineers, girls can watch and all they see of females in the sport are the grid girls standing around holding signs and looking pretty. Little wonder that they might feel that motor racing isn’t for them.

        Just my 2p

        I honestly think you are overvaluing your contribution there.

        1. No one said to my sister that f1 or motorsports are for men only. No one discouraged her from anything like that. She chose not to peruse an interest in it, as I have chosen that I don’t like dance or ballet or textiles, knitting, crochet etc.

          Again if a girl goes to a karting place she won’t be turned away and told its just for men.

          If I have a daughter I’ll put a car and a doll in front of her and see what she plays with the most. I frankly have no problem if she plays with the car. She’ll have one more way to relate to her father at the least.

          And as I said my post was based on my experience, 90% or there abouts of art students in school and college were girls. Girls also tend to favour the humanity subjects, and biology from the sciences

        2. Might I add that Motorsport in general is a niche sport. Hardly anyone knows about f1 compared to say football (where I live). Even in my university on a mechanical engineering course hardly anyone has heard of it. There are loads of men who aren’t into racing too

        3. I honestly think you are overvaluing your contribution there.

          That bit, I loved. :)

          1. It’s sad that you people think this is progress. Mixing up gender roles and mish mashing them together and becoming so P. C. about it that you no longer have a girls and boys section in some stores and you ban or rebuke TV advertisements for portraying traditional roles all in the name of ‘freedom’. It’s a path to being messed up. You don’t accept transgender people for whom they really are (mentally ill boys who think they’re girls or vice versa) all in the name of progress and freedom of expression. It’s all messed up.

          2. To add to my point, I’m not going to risk, in the name of ‘progress’ having my child grow up with associations and likings which are different to society. That would just lead to rejection and a poor life of depression. That person would become weak and frail socially and mentally.

            It’s what happens when you let a 2 year old decide what’s best for them. Slowly but surely parents are loosing more and more control over their children. All in the name of ‘progress’

          3. No one said to my sister that f1 or motorsports are for men only

            Again if a girl goes to a karting place she won’t be turned away and told its just for men

            Straw man arguments. I never said girls were outright told anything. Its about the entirety of our culture pigeonholing peoples lives based on whether they have a Y chromosome or not. That fact that you don’t see how pervasive gender stereotyping is really just shows how bad it is.

            And as I said my post was based on my experience, 90% or there abouts of art students in school and college were girls

            I suggest you look at actual facts then, for instance the actual number of male art students (in the UK for the last 3 years at least) is closer to 4 times your “experience”

            There are loads of men who aren’t into racing too

            Hold on so when your sister isn’t into racing it’s because of her gender but when men aren’t into racing its because its a niche sport? Get your story straight please!

            It’s sad that you people think this is progress. Mixing up gender roles and mish mashing them together and becoming so P. C. about it that you no longer have a girls and boys section in some stores and you

            You realise that gender roles are made up right? You realise that gendering clothes is made up right? Clothes are completely unnatural. Human beings aren’t born with them and its only completely arbitrary rules that dictate who wears what. So what if a boy wants to wear a dress and make up. That is not a mental illness and if you think otherwise it is you that has the problem. You are being so ridiculous I am not sure if you are actually just trolling.

            ban or rebuke TV advertisements for portraying traditional roles

            And why this is a bad thing? Please tell me why it isn’t toxic to humanity to continued to perpetuate outdated and entirely man made gender roles?

          4. It’s what happens when you let a 2 year old decide what’s best for them. Slowly but surely parents are loosing more and more control over their children. All in the name of ‘progress’

            Oh, Me! Me! Teacher I can answer that one from experience.

            When you let a 2 y.o. decide what’s best for her, you are educating her; you are making sure the eventual adult knows about consequences. That way, slowly but surely, the parents can rely in their children’s own agency.

            Interesting idea this one, right SM? People can have power over how they live their lives.

          5. @SM

            It’s what happens when you let a 2 year old decide what’s best for them. Slowly but surely parents are loosing more and more control over their children. All in the name of ‘progress’

            My little baby decides what she wants to wear and when even at this tender age, because I want her to be comfortable first, and then worry about her attire. Of course, letting her lose to decide without reasoning, will be wrong. She learns to justify why she cannot wear something else – and that way, she trains herself to understand the importance of events. She won’t be seen wearing a polka dot panties at a funeral. Because, I will teach her to understand emotions. Not expectations of someone who does not matter.

            She tells me that she wants to be a doctor. I am sure, that will change as she learns more about life and the environment out there. You know why? Because she will realize her potential each time she explores something new. She is smitten by racing today, and if she continues to do so, so be it. It can become a carrier. The problem is that a lot of parents, who ever never thought to think for themselves first, become selfish!

            There is a way to convey a teaching and you need to put in efforts to learn. After all, he or she is your blood.

  7. So discrimination in F1 is needed to get more young girls to ask their Dads to buy a van and 5 grands worth of Karting equipment.
    Why cant girls be inspired just by watching fast noisy good looking cars like most boys are? Or playing with toy cars?
    Football is very inclusive to women with female only leagues, plenty of role models, costs next to nothing, yet a very small percentage of girls consider becoming Footballers.

    1. This article actually calls it “meteoric”: https://blog.pitchero.com/the-growth-of-womens-football

      Your comment, when investigated for factual evidence is entirely backwards. Women are getting into football at a huge rate, due to increased exposure of women in football.

      So the answer to your question is “because they don’t have female role models in the sport like we boys do”.

      1. I said ‘small percentage’. If you dont believe me look down your local park or even take time to attend those large congragations of football fields. you are wrong, theres not a ‘huge’ amount of girls kicking a ball around.
        There may have been a big uptake recently, but percentages are very very low. Speak to familes you know with both sons and daughters. I bet you most of their daughters dont play football, if in in europe most of their boys do.

    2. Why cant girls be inspired just by watching fast noisy good looking cars like most boys are? Or playing with toy cars?

      Maybe because when boys watch F1 they see other boys driving the cars. When girls watch they see other girls standing around looking pretty and holding signs? At least we have made progress here by getting rid of the grid girls

      As for playing with toy cars … maybe that is because (due to gender stereotyping) girls don’t get toy cars to play with in the first place, they get dolls and such like instead. Don’t take it from me though how about over lovely fellow racefan @sato113

      It’s true, boys don’t wear princess dresses in general. My son will play with Lego and toy soldiers and my daughter will have a lovely doll house to start with. Then we’ll see which direction they choose to go

      Boys get “boys” toys and girls get “girls” toys. Is it any wonder we see less girls in motor racing when even their own parents are telling them it’s not for them?

      1. @sato113 is right.

        Boys should be boys and girls should be girls. They should be different.

        Actually whilst we’re at it (giving girls cars and boys dolls) why not dress the boys up in pretty pink dresses and grow their hair, put lipstick and makeup on them whilst giving the girls some nice jeans and a blue shirt, insisting on cutting their hair and refusing them any flowers?

        (God forbid)

        1. SM – this is where you get it wrong though

          why not dress the boys up in pretty pink dresses and grow their hair, put lipstick and makeup on them whilst giving the girls some nice jeans and a blue shirt, insisting on cutting their hair and refusing them any flowers?

          (highlights mine)

          Just look at that comment. It is all about YOU (or the parent) DOING things TO THEM and forcing them to do something.

          Nobody here is advocating to force anyone (boy or girl) to wear dresses, make-up, have short hair/long hair etc. The point is to not put choices in front of kids that are already based upon OUR expectation/gender stereotyping.

          I know when I was a kid (about age 6) I also wanted a nice purple dress, just like a friend of mine had. My parents let me. I even wore it to school several times. Because it looked a lot nicer a garment than the boys clothes everyone wore. It didn’t hurt me in the slightest – i did find out that it was not practical for playing outside though. A couple of centuries back all kids were dressed in skirts for the first years of their lives. It changed because society changed.

          Or look at how many men have started wearing purple and pink shirts in recent years. Colours that had become associated with being “girlish” in the last century. That all has much to do with social conventions, but nothing really with how people are different.

          1. the fashion industry *pushes* those colours on men and pretty much controls what us sheep wear

            you talk about society changing which is true, but if the world returned to chaos, the hunters and warriors would predominantly be boys and trained to do so at a young age with their lives on the line.
            go back a couple of centuries and there were 14-15 year olds in the Navy. Two world wars with mostly 18 year olds and senior air force personal aged 25

        2. Actually whilst we’re at it (giving girls cars and boys dolls) why not dress the boys up in pretty pink dresses and grow their hair, put lipstick and makeup on them whilst giving the girls some nice jeans and a blue shirt, insisting on cutting their hair and refusing them any flowers?

          Why not? What is wrong with a boy wearing a pink dress, having long hair or wearing lipstick? What is wrong with a girl having short hair and wearing jeans?

      2. Oh please! I’m black & I never needed a black kid to watch in F1 to enjoy. I don’t get why people repeat the media’s nonsense about how you need role models that look like you, so stupid.

        Boys & girls are VERY different, do young girls have wrestling matches or boxing matches as 8-14 year olds in the basement or backyard? Most likely not.

        I highly doubt if you girls & boys the same toys to choose from (one set of barbie dolls & another set of trucks & cars), you’d be stupid to think that most of the boys would be playing with the dolls or in the same way as the girls. Why do so many boys love cars, point at cars, remember car names at very young ages?? Because we clearly go d damn different. There’s nothing wrong with that?

        1. I’m with you here. I’m mutt. Never have I needed to see my “kind” to be inspired. It has always been malarkey.

        2. Did you guys hear about that non-european driver with the dreamy eyes that was kicking everybody’s derrière in a Lotus in the 80s?

          I hear he was influential in promoting F1 to kids that were neither blonde nor had anglophone origins.

      3. All parents I know would not deprive their kids of chosing a toy that didnt fit into their gender stereo type.

        Boys have warrior and hunter DNA, girls have a homemaking DNA which is why Humans made it to this stage of trying to neutralsing them

  8. What would you say about a driver who got promoted to be an F1 test driver after finishing 18th in second years of GP3 at 24 years of age?
    If the driver was a guy: “Money Talks!!”
    If the driver was a girl: “Carmen Jorda is wrong!!”

    1. The white Knights 😂😂 …disgusting

      1. I agree, white knights are the worse part of the problem.

  9. To get in F1 a lesson for all the male racing drivers who cannot bring millions to a team…..get a sex change and you will get a chance.

    1. Meh, I have to agree with someone who commented above that while seeing some talented women in f1 races would be good too, as I think only one, lombardi, ever scored a point in f1 so far, the performance of this one is nowhere near good enough, even palmer had better performance and you saw where he ended up, it’s useless to bring them in because they’re female, they should get in because of talent, even though that isn’t completely true even for male drivers in recent times.

  10. Josh (@canadianjosh)
    7th March 2018, 13:58

    18th place in GP3, how can one take Sauber seriously after a PR stunt like this?

  11. Judging by all the fuss you’d think Hamilton had been sacked and his place given to Tatiana.

    FFS she’s become Sauber’s trainee driver, some perspective!

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