Calderon reveals steering fix led to breakthrough GP3 point
Tatiana Calderon has said rectifying a steering problem with her car was key to her surge through the field in Hockenheim to score her first GP3 point.
Photo by: GP2 Media Service
Starting from the very back of the grid, the Colombian driver made up 12 places in Saturday's opening race at the German circuit to finish 10th and in the points for the first time in 2016.
She followed that with another season-best finish on Sunday morning as she came home ninth, just three tenths behind McLaren protege Nyck de Vries.
Just hours before Saturday's opener, Calderon suffered a disastrous qualifying session, and was visibly upset after ending up 22nd and last.
But, speaking to Motorsport.com, the Arden driver revealed that a problem with her car's steering column, which was rectified in time for the first race, was to blame for her qualifying woes.
"It was mostly in high-speed corners I was losing the time [in qualifying], because I felt like the steering was extremely heavy," Calderon explained. "There was something not right there.
"I was 1.4 seconds off the pace but I didn't feel like I could give 100 percent because the limiting factor was the steering.
"For race one, we changed the steering column and made a few more experimental set-up changes. Starting so far back, we had nothing to lose.
"But it worked out – I had good fights with Dennis, Fuoco and Jorg, top names, I almost beat de Vries in race two. I wished it went on a bit longer!"
"I just need to relax"
Next up on the GP3 schedule after the summer break is Spa, the scene of Calderon's stint in the lead in European Formula 3 last year, and the 23-year-old is optimistic of maintaining her points-scoring form at the Belgian track with a new mindset.
"I understand how I need to approach the weekends from now," she said. "I just need to relax and trust my instincts more – because it's just a matter of feeling comfortable and confident in the car.
"At Spa, we'll be using the same tyre compound [the soft] and we expect some degradation, which I feel comfortable managing.
"I think sometimes I just put too much pressure on myself, because I know I can do it and that I have the speed."
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