Sauber Formula 1 development driver Tatiana Calderón completed her second season in the GP3 Series last weekend in Abu Dhabi, with her focus now firmly on preparing for 2018.
The 24-year-old Colombian’s campaign with the DAMS squad ended in disappointing fashion at the Yas Marina track, where she was unable to add to her points tally after her weekend was compromised from the outset by a problem with the car in free practice.
But her misfortune doesn’t detract from what has been an important and broadly successful year for Tatiana, who has integrated herself within the Sauber F1 team and scored a superb podium finish in the Formula V8 3.5 World Series in Bahrain.
That result, combined with some impressive performances in GP3, have cemented her reputation as the leading female driver on the junior single-seater ladder and moved her a step closer to her ultimate goal of becoming a fully-fledged F1 driver.
Now the Bogota-born, Madrid-domiciled driver is evaluating her options for 2018, as her current DAMS team electing not to remain in GP3 next season necessitates a change of scenery.
Tatiana will test for two of the category’s top outfits, ART Grand Prix and Jenzer Motorsport, in this week’s Abu Dhabi post-season test, which runs from 30 November-2 December – and hopes to be able to showcase the pace she was unable to demonstrate during the final races of the year.
Tatiana Calderón: “It wasn’t the end of the season we were looking for, but the pace we showed was still quite encouraging. Unfortunately issues in free practice complicated the whole weekend, but overall it has been a really good season – we started off slowly but we managed to come back and to be quite strong in some races, even if we deserved some better results. Now I’m looking forward to starting to prepare for the 2018 season with post-season testing in Abu Dhabi – I’ll be with two really competitive teams, so hopefully it will be a chance to show the pace we really had over the weekend.”
Tatiana would like to thank the DAMS team, her sponsors – including principal backer Escuderia Telmex – and all those that have supported her over the course of the season for their contribution in another vital season in her development.
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