Alfa Romeo F1 boss Frederic Vasseur says that he has ‘no doubt’ that test driver Tatiana Calderon will succeed in her endurance racing career ahead of Calderon’s debut in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
Calderon partners Sophia Floersch and Beitske Visser as part of an all-female LMP2 entry for Richard Mille Racing Team, which is run by Signatech.
“I liked the project right away,” Vasseur said. “We talked about it a great deal before she made her decision, but between Philippe [Sinault] whose team manages the ORECA 07-Gibson and Richard [Mille], she was in very good hands. It’s a great project that she couldn’t let slip by.”
Vasseur went on to praise his protege, stating that Calderon has everything it takes to endurance racing.
“She did all she could in single-seaters and I think she did well. She raced well when we put her in an F1. She has every bit of the performance level required to compete in Sport-Prototypes and to succeed in endurance racing.
“She is very professional in her approach which is very important in endurance. She is a real team player. When you come from single-seaters, the trap is to stay in the mindset of the absolute performance.
“If she can adopt the spirit of endurance racing, it will go well. She is a very intelligent woman and I have no doubt she will succeed.”
Calderon has had a relationship with Sauber, which would become Alfa Romeo, since 2016, first as a development driver and later as an official test driver, a role she maintains to this day.
After leaving Formula 2 at the end of 2019, Calderon has been active in both sportscar and Japanese Super Formula. In January, the 27-year-old raced in the Rolex 24 at Daytona with GEAR Racing and made her European Le Mans Series debut at the season opener at Paul Ricard in July.
“To me, this is a new page turning in her career,” concluded Vasseur. “She is starting a new project with more opportunities than in single-seaters. F1 is 10 teams and 20 drivers. In endurance it’s easier to build a good career. That’s all I hope for her and so this 24 Hours is very important for her!”
