IndyCar rookies bring strong resumes, loads of promise

IndyCar 2022 rookies: No. 5 – Tatiana Calderon

At 28, Tatiana Calderon is five years older than the next youngest IndyCar rookie and brings the experience that comes along with those additional years. She won’t run the Indianapolis 500 or at any of the other four ovals on the 2022 calendar, but she is likely on a path to be a full-time driver in 2023.

The native of Bogota, Colombia is the first woman to win karting titles in Colombia or the United States and has 10 years of experience in Formula 3, Formula 2, and the World Endurance Championship.

With her skills and experience, combined with the support she’ll get from the engineering and mechanical infrastructure of one of IndyCar’s oldest and most stable teams, there is a possibility that Calderon could crack the top half of the standings this season, even without the benefit of the points she’ll lose not running on ovals.

Calderon served as a test driver for the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team from 2018 to 2020 and raced in Japan’s Super Formula the last two seasons. She will aim to be IndyCar’s first female Rookie of the Year since Danica Patrick in 2005.

If she does indeed run every race in 2023 and Paretta Autosport and Simona de Silvestro return to the Indianapolis 500 as expected, IndyCar’s flagship race in 2023 could feature two women for the first time since 2015 when de Silvestro and Pippa Mann competed.