Tati Paze

Tatiana Calderón is a Colombian racing driver who’s made history as the first woman to compete in Formula 2, the first Latin American woman to drive a Formula 1 car, and one of the most persistent female voices fighting for equality in a sport that wasn’t exactly rolling out the welcome mat.

EARLY YEARS

Born March 10, 1993, in Bogotá, Colombia, Tatiana Calderón Noguera comes from a family that breathes cars—her parents, Alberto and Maria Clara, run a Kia dealership. She’s also the second cousin of Nobel Peace Prize-winning former Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos, though she’d probably rather you remember her for what she’s done on track.

Before she ever touched a steering wheel, Calderón tried just about everything: football, tennis, field hockey, golf, horse riding. None of it stuck. What did stick was a trip to a rental go-kart track near her home when she was nine years old. Her older sister Paula took her, and that was it—Tatiana was hooked. It’s funny, really. Paula got there first, but it was her younger sister who turned it into a career.

Growing up in Colombia, motorsport wasn’t an obvious path, especially for a girl. But her parents supported her from the start, even when it meant missing school for races. She kept up with her studies anyway, learning English and German alongside her native Spanish. Since 2012, she’s lived in Madrid, Spain, chasing the European racing dream.

OTHER INTERESTS

Outside the cockpit, Calderón is an athlete through and through. She loves sports in general—tennis, water skiing, anything that keeps her moving. Her daily routine includes between two and four hours of physical training because at 163 cm and 57 kg, she knows she has to be in peak condition to handle the physical demands of racing.

She’s also fiercely passionate about encouraging young girls to enter motorsport. Along with her sister Paula, she’s become a vocal advocate for women in the industry, not just as drivers but in every role. In 2022, she partnered with Colombian superstar Karol G’s Con Cora Foundation to support vulnerable women, and Karol G even sponsored her IndyCar campaign with the word “Bichota”—a nod to the singer’s hit song and empowerment mantra.

EARLY SUCCESS

Calderón started karting in 2002 and quickly proved she wasn’t there to make up the numbers. She became the first woman to win a Colombian national karting title, then repeated the feat in the United States by taking the JICA Junior championship in the Stars of Karting series. Breaking barriers before she could legally drive a car on public roads? That’s one way to announce yourself.

In 2011, she joined the Derek Daly Academy driver development program after reading a book by the former F1 driver. Daly saw something in her and helped guide her through the early stages of her single-seater career. She moved up through the ranks methodically: Formula BMW, Euroformula Open, British Formula 3, always as one of the few—or the only—women on the grid.

In 2013, racing for Double R Racing, she became the first woman to score a podium in the British Formula 3 International Series, finishing third at Spa-Francorchamps. It was a watershed moment—not just for her, but for every young girl watching and wondering if she could do it too.

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS

• 2004-2008: First woman to win national karting championships in Colombia and the United States.
• 2013: First woman to score a podium in the British Formula 3 International Series (third place at Spa-Francorchamps).
• 2016: Became a development driver for the Sauber F1 Team after being introduced to team principal Monisha Kaltenborn.
• 2018: Test driver for Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team; first Latin American woman to drive a Formula 1 car, testing in Mexico City.
• 2019: Became the first woman to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship, racing for Arden; led a lap during the Feature Race in Baku, becoming the first woman to lead a race at that level; retained as Alfa Romeo test driver.
• 2020: Made her 24 Hours of Le Mans debut, finishing ninth in LMP2 and 13th overall alongside Sophia Flörsch and Beitske Visser.
• 2021: Competed in Japan’s Super Formula Championship.
• 2022: Raced in the NTT IndyCar Series for A.J. Foyt Enterprises, splitting seat time with JR Hildebrand on road and street courses; overcame a hand injury sustained at Monza during her F2 return season.
• 2024: Competed in the IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD class with Gradient Racing, driving the Acura NSX GT3 Evo22.
• 2025: Racing for Gradient Racing in the IMSA SportsCar Championship, piloting the new Ford Mustang GT3 alongside Joey Hand and Till Bechtolsheimer.

INSPIRATIONS

Growing up in Colombia, Juan Pablo Montoya was the obvious hero. He was Colombia’s F1 winner, the guy who proved it could be done. Calderón tells a story about idolizing him as a kid, and he later became an early mentor to her—someone with “great talent” who understood the path she was trying to walk.

But her most influential mentor came later: Susie Wolff, the former F1 development driver. They met at Hockenheim in 2013, and Wolff became something of a manager and guide to Calderón, helping her navigate career decisions in a male-dominated sport. In 2014, she also gained support from Anthony Hamilton, Lewis Hamilton’s father, who understood what it took to break through.

These weren’t just feel-good relationships. They were strategic, necessary connections for a woman trying to get taken seriously in a paddock that still wasn’t sure what to do with her.

REPUTATION

Calderón has built a reputation as someone who doesn’t just show up—she pushes boundaries and refuses to accept lower standards because of her gender. She’s been vocal about the fact that “people expect less” from female drivers, and she’s spent her entire career proving them wrong. She doesn’t want to race against girls; she wants to race against the best. Period.

Her approach is refreshingly no-nonsense. “Gender doesn’t matter in this sport,” she’s said, and she means it. She’s not interested in being the token female driver or competing in women-only series. She wants to be judged on merit, lap times, and results—nothing more, nothing less.

That attitude has earned her respect, but it hasn’t made the road any easier. She’s faced skepticism, overt discrimination, and the constant pressure of being “the first” in almost every series she’s entered. Yet she keeps showing up, keeps fighting, and keeps opening doors for the women coming up behind her. She’s become an ambassador for AVL RACETECH and has worked with programs aimed at increasing diversity in motorsport engineering, not just driving.

FUTURE GOALS/PLANS

For 2025, Calderón is focused on the IMSA SportsCar Championship, racing the Endurance Cup rounds with Gradient Racing in the new Ford Mustang GT3. She’s returning to a team she drove for in 2024, now with fresh machinery and high expectations. It’s a continuation of her sports car journey, which has included Le Mans and multiple IMSA campaigns.

But make no mistake—she’s still keeping an eye on Formula 1. She’s spoken openly about how F1’s rules are stacked against women, but she hasn’t given up on the dream. Whether she gets another shot at the pinnacle or continues building her legacy in sportscars and IndyCar, one thing is clear: Tatiana Calderón isn’t going anywhere. She’s here to race, to compete, and to prove that talent doesn’t have a gender.

REFERENCES

A Journey from Colombia to the World Stage – YouTube
Tatiana Calderón – Wikipedia
MBP welcomes Tatiana Calderón to its elite driver stable
SUNDAY CONVERSATION: Tatiana Calderon on quest to prove her worth in F1 – Formula 1
Chatting with Tatiana and Paula Calderon – Fast and Fearless
Meet the Athlete: Tatiana Calderón – Shift Up Now
MY CAREER – Tatiana Calderon Official Website
Tatiana Calderon: “I don’t want to race against girls, just the best!” – Motorsport.com
Tatiana Calderon returns to IMSA Endurance Cup with Gradient Racing – Racers Behind the Helmet
Karol G’s Con Cora Foundation Partners with Racing Pro Tatiana Calderón – The Fame Magazine
How Tatiana Calderón got sponsored by the most viewed artist of 2022 – Feeder Series
A History of Firsts: A Look At Tatiana Calderón’s Trailblazing Career – Along the Racing Line
Formula 1 hopeful Tatiana Calderon says ‘people expect less’ from women – Business Insider
IndyCar Racer Tatiana Calderon Says F1 Rules Stacked Against Women – Autoweek
Tatiana Calderón – Formula 2