Sauber Formula 1 team has promoted GP3 racer Tatiana Calderon to the position of its official test driver.
The 24-year-old served as Sauber’s ‘development driver’ during 2017 alongside her second GP3 campaign.
This year will see Calderon in an expanded role, dovetailed with her third season in GP3, this year with Jenzer Motorsport.
“This collaboration will build upon the experience that I have gained as development driver with the team over the past year,” she said.
“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.”
Antonio Giovinazzi is the team’s reserve driver and will participate in six FP1 sessions with the team this year. While this may mean Calderon will miss out on making her grand prix weekend debut, she is scheduled to drive an old-spec Sauber F1 car at some point during the year.
Sauber team principal Frederic Vasseur says he was impressed with her progress over 2017, which warranted an extension of their partnership.
“Tatiana is a very hard-working person, who has impressed the team with her focus and dedication,” Vasseur said.
“She has made good progress as a driver, developing both her mental and physical capacities continuously over the past few years.”
Calderon has scored points on four occasions in GP3 and earned a podium in her one-off outing in the now-defunct World Series V8 3.5 Championship in Bahrain last year.
