Womens Health Australia September 2017

INTERVIEW: STEWART BELL. PHOTOGRAPHY: PAOLO PELLEGRINI; COURTESY SINGAPORE GP

Life etc motoring

DESIGNATED

DRIVER

Driving at high speeds is hard

physical work that can get

Tatiana Calderón’s heart rate

up to 160 BPM. Yep, this is one

tough chick. She’s a driver in

junior motor racing series GP3,

as well as a development driver

for Formula 1 team Sauber, and

she’s on the path to becoming

the first female to start a

Formula 1 Grand Prix since

1976. The sportswoman takes
      us through how she handles
      fear and pressure in what’s
      normally a man’s domain.

On success in a

male field...

“I think it’s quite challenging

because you need to earn

respect a little bit more

than the guys and prove

yourself every time you’re

on the track. But I think it

makes you tougher, and once

you’ve earned respect you’re

just another driver. I think it’s

great this is one of the only

sports where we can compete

on equal terms, but for sure

there are challenges – on the

physical side, I need to train

harder than the guys. But

I found my passion, motor

racing, early in life. So it’s

about not letting anyone put

limits on my performance. You

need to believe in yourself!”

On facing fear...

“To be honest, I’ve never

experienced fear of something

happening to me because

when you love what you do,

you don’t feel that. It’s more

about fear of performance.

But I’ve always said that if

something happens, at least

I’m doing what I love and that’s

how anyone should look at it.”

On coping with

pressure...

“I think it’s essential to have

pressure to perform, trying to

do better. If people are putting

pressure on you, it’s because

you’re doing a good job –

because otherwise people

wouldn’t care. So if I have

pressure, that’s a good sign,

and I’m working as hard as

I can to ensure I’m ready to

perform and show I can do it.”

On keeping focused...

“You really need to be

physically on top of the car

you’re driving, because then

you can focus on your job, on

the braking points, where the

apex of the corner is, and what

the car is doing, so you can

share that information with the

engineers and make the car go

quicker or better for you.” WH

Tatiana Calderón hits speeds

up to 320km/h – so how does

she hack life in the fast lane?

SINGAPORE

Calderón tells us

about the upcoming

Singapore Grand

Prix, Formula 1’s

toughest race.

Are you looking

forward to the F1

Singapore Grand

Prix? “The track

looks unbelievable!

Everybody wants

to race there, and

it’s a night race in

Singapore – it’s one

you want to do.”

What have you

heard about it?

“It’s the most

demanding race

because of the

humidity and as

the walls are so

close, there’s no air

going through.”

Why should we

watch it? “It’s the

closest you can

be to the cars, so

they are pretty

spectacular races

for fans to watch.

You also have

music [Calvin

Harris, Ariana

Grande, Duran

Duran and more

will perform],

so it’s great fun

for families.”

The 2017 Formula 1

Singapore Airlines

Singapore Grand

Prix is on Sept 15-17.

Find out more at

singaporegp.sg

NEXT STOP...

AMAZING

RACER

SEPTEMBER 2017 womenshealth.com.au 51