Calderon wins expanded test role at Sauber

©Sauber

GP3 racer Tatiana Calderon has been tipped to get behind the wheel of a Sauber race car this season.

Calderon had already been appointed Sauber's development driver. However, her contribution was initially limited to conducting simulator work.

But on Tuesday, the team confirmed that her 2018 role was now that of official test driver for the Swiss squad.

The promotion means that the 24-year-old will be completing simulator training sessions and coaching with engineers at Grand Prix weekends.

She'll likely also take a greater role in test sessions in a non-current Formula 1 car at some point during the season.

“I am very pleased to confirm my role as Test Driver for the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team in the 2018 season," she said.

"This collaboration will build upon the experience that I have gained as Development Driver with the team over the past year. I look forward to continuing on this positive path together.

"I have been able to substantially expand and develop my skills as a race driver, and I am convinced that I will be doing so throughout this year.

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The Colombian driver thanked the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 team, and her sponsors for backing her motorsports career to date.

Calderon's first professional single seater campaign was in the Star Mazda Series in the United States. Since then she's competed in Euroformula Open, British F3, FIA F3 and GP3.

For the 2018 season, Tatiana will be competing in the GP3 Series again with Jenzer Motorsport. She was fifth fastest in last month's opening test of the pre-season at Paul Ricard.

"I look forward to this season," she commented. "I will give my all to demonstrate my capabilities in both GP3 and Formula 1.”

"We are very pleased to continue our collaboration with Tatiana," said Sauber boss Frédéric Vasseur

"Tatiana is a very hard-working person, who has impressed the team with her focus and dedication," he continued. "She has made good progress as a driver, developing both her mental and physical capacities continuously over the past few years.

"We look forward to having Tatiana on board for our first chapter as the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team."

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Andrew Lewin

Andrew first became a fan of Formula 1 during the time when Michael Schumacher and Damon Hill were stepping into the limelight after the era of Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell and Aryton Senna. He's been addicted ever since, and has been writing about the sport now for nearly a quarter of a century for a number of online news sites. He's also written professionally about GP2 (now Formula 2), GP3, IndyCar, World Rally Championship, MotoGP and NASCAR. In his other professional life, Andrew is a freelance writer, social media consultant, web developer/programmer, and digital specialist in the fields of accessibility, usability, IA, online communities and public sector procurement. He worked for many years in magazine production at Bauer Media, and for over a decade he was part of the digital media team at the UK government's communications department. Born and raised in Essex, Andrew currently lives and works in south-west London.