Fred Vasseur did not hesitate one second when Tatiana Calderon told him about a proposition she had just received from Richard Mille Racing Team about participating in the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Sophia Flörsch and Beitske Visser. Frédéric Vasseur​: "Go! I liked the project right away (he had given the Colombian driver her first laps in F1 the day after the 2018 Mexican Grand Prix, Ed.). We talked about it a great deal before she made her decision, but between Philippe (Sinault, Ed.) whose team manages the ORECA 07-Gibson and Richard (Mille, Ed.), she was in very good hands. It's a great project that she couldn't let slip by."

Since their first meeting in 2017 when she was cutting her teeth with DAMS in GP3, the manager of the Swiss team has always advised her, as much on the track as at the factory where she has invested a lot in her role as a development driver responsible for tests in the simulator. He wasted no time in promoting her to test driver after a first conclusive test of 100 km at the wheel of one of the marque's F1s. Another session would follow, at Ferrari's test track in Fiorano, but over the course of two days to assess her potential. Vasseur was there when she joined BWT Arden in F2 as a teammate of the late Anthoine Hubert, and for the third year in a row, helped her to gain confidence. He believes in her, the man is not known for his altruism.

"She did all she could in single-seaters and I think she did well," says Vasseur who has coached some of the most talented F1 drivers in the world, from Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc to Nico Rosberg and Sebastian Vettel. "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."

Tatiana, who this season competed in Japan in the Super Formula Championship somewhat shortened due to the global health pandemic, may be tempted to leave single-seaters and embrace a future in endurance racing. That's what her boss thinks. "To me, this is a new page turning in her career. 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!"

PHOTO (Copyright - DPPI)