Carmen Jorda Bio: Lotus F1, Controversies & Net Worth

Former motor racing driver Carmen Jorda has a journey full of controversies. Apparently, she is also a former development driver for the Lotus and Renault Sport Formula One teams. 

Commencing her career in her early days, she bagged her debut in 2006 and has worked with cars ever since.

She has affiliated herself with teams like Ocean Racing Technology, Bamboo Engineering, and Koiranen GP. 

Although she has stood as the eleventh woman in history to be part of a Formula 1 team’s driver line-up, she is questioned for her skill sets.

Somehow, her experience throughout motor racing series such as GP3, Firestone Indy Lights, and the Le Mans Series hasn’t been perceived well. 

However, Jorda has always been a classy lady in love with cars. Also, you can often see her in various editorials. 

Quick Facts:

Carmen Jorda | Early Life and Family 

Carmen Jordá Buades was born on May 28, 1988, under Gemini’s sun sign.

Apparently, she was born in Alcoy, Spain; however, she later grew up in Valencia, Spain.

Although not much is out about her family background and parents, it is known that her father is a former motor racing driver Jose Miguel Jordá.

Thus, having her father in the arena, it was easy for her to start in the field at an early age. Additionally, Jorda hasn’t revealed her academics yet.

During her teenage years, she was already included in Master Junior Formula and later advanced to Spanish Formula 3.

Carmen Jorda | Height, Weight, and Body Measurements 

Carmen Jorda is an athletically toned lady with a slim figure. As for her appearance, Jorda is fair with regular blonde hair and light brown eyes.

Not to mention, Jorda stands at a decent height of 5 feet 7 inches (1.75 meters) while weighing 60 kg (132 lbs). 

Furthermore, her bra size is 34B. Also, the body measurements she has today acquired through her strict diet and workout routines.

As for her workout routine, Jorda wakes up early in the morning and begins her training routine at the gymnasium at 9:30 am.

Apart from it, she also has sets of Pilates or Yoga in the afternoon. Therefore, she works out for four hours in total per day.

Apparently, her regimen is all based on increasing resistance, strength, and coordination. Alongside her body maintenance, she is also careful with her facial structures.

As per her, Jorda is quite sensitive about her skin as the first thing she does is cleanse and then apply the eye contour and the serum.

Additionally, she also uses the oil-free hydrating cream for sun production. Also, she exfoliates her skin three times a week with Exfoliating Scrub and hydrates them in the end. 

Likewise, she visits the Aesthetics Centre once a month and then uses the Germaine de Capuccini Sleeping-Cure ampoules. 

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Carmen Jorda | Professional Career

Jorda made her debut in a professional career in the 2006 season. Jorda competed in the 2007 Spanish Formula 3 season, where she finished fourth in the line. 

After standing in the Copa F300 standings, she commenced working in the F3 for 2008 and 2009. She first competed in the new European F3 Open Championship during her tenure.

Later, she also partook in the Le Mans Series for the Q8 Oils Hache Team, racing in the LMP2 class.

Firestone Indy Lights Series

Before signing for the Indy Lights Series, Jorda first tested the cars for the series two times. Initially, she started on January 19, 2010, for Walker Racing at Sebring International Raceway. 

Following it, she tested the Indy Light Series cars for Andersen Racing at Barber Motorsports Park.

After these, she dealt with the Indy Light Series on March 8, 2010, to present for the Firestone Indy Lights Series full time. 

Right then, she debuted for the team at the Firestone Indy Grand Prix of St. Petersburg on the Streets of St. Petersburg.

Her debut ended in the 11th position; it became her best career finish, her first top–10 finish. 

However, right after it, she missed games with the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Iowa Speedway, and Watkins Glen International.

But she was right back at the Exhibition Place in Toronto and at Edmonton City Centre Airport for the Edmonton Indy 100. 

Likewise, she again missed the final games at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, Infineon Raceway, and Chicagoland Speedway.

Not to mention, she was also absent from the Kentucky Speedway and Homestead–Miami Speedway.

GP3

After Indy Series, Carmen Jorda took the time for 2011 and joined the GP3 in 2012 through Ocean Racing Technology.

After just a season, she signed with Bamboo Engineering in 2013. Likewise, she again dealt with Koiranen GP for the works within a season. 

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Formula 1

After years in the GP3 motors, Carmen featured in F1 on February 6, 2015.

In addition to that, starting as the development driver in the Lotus, Jorda became the 11th woman in history to be part of a Formula 1 team’s driver line-up.

Altogether, Jorda was only on the team for a season as later, the Lotus was later taken over by the French manufacturer.

They also changed their name to Renault Sport Formula One Team back then. 

W Series and More

As a matter of fact, the end of her 2016 season marked her racing career. After the Lotus in 2016, Jorda involved herself in the FIA’s Women in Motorsport commission.

It was in December 2017. However, like her many works, it was also taken in mockery.

Following it, Jorda tried for the W series in 2019. However, they disqualified her after she failed to attend the evaluation day. 

Carmen Jorda | Controversies

Indeed, Jorda has a controversial journey in the racing series, which prevailed due to her zero scores.

Unfortunately, she has no wins, poles, or the best laps to date. To date, the best finish she had was her 28th position in her 2012 games. 

Formula One Developmental Driver

Back when in February 2015, Carmen Jorda was announced as the development driver for Formula One, everyone criticized her heavily.

To such an extent, they started calling her a “marketing gimmick,” as to date, she hadn’t won a single championship since the Master Junior Formula Series in 2005.

For all those years, she had worked in GP3 and the Indy Series; however, she only stood in the 28th position in the final standings.

Therefore, they concluded that she was only selected either for her looks or her money. 

Back then, the FIA’s Women & Motor Sport Commission, Michèle Mouton, stated her to be the worst choice for the position.

Furthermore, he had also given a few names for the positions, including Simona de Silvestro, Danica Patrick, Susie Wolff, and Beitske Visser. 

Therefore, in reply to Mouton, Jorda had stated that she was in that position due to her determination and dreams, similar to the Lotus. Apparently, it was during her interview with Motorsport.com. 

Simultaneously, she was also criticized by the Vice’s writer, James Newbold, who stated her signings to be based on her appearance.

Alongside it, he even provided her race records of the previous years while concluding; that she was providing the wrong message in the market. 

Carmen Jorda’s Sexist Statements 

“It’s not fair that women have to compete in the same championship as men because we’re never going to become World Champion, and I think women deserve that chance.”
-Carmen Jorda

The same year in 2015, Jorda made a statement to light the single motive; to have a separate championship for women.

However, her message wasn’t well-perceived by anyone except Formula 1 chief executive Bernie Ecclestone. 

According to Bernie, he opened up his support for Jorda during his interview with Motorsport.com.

However, female drivers like Sophia Flörsch and Indianapolis 500 driver Pippa Mann all commented against her. 

Apparently, Carmen faced a similar situation later in 2018 when she commented; 

“It’s a less physical car than in Formula One because of the downforce and because of the power steering as well. So yes, for sure. The challenge that we women have in Formula Two and Formula One is a physical issue, and I think in Formula E, we won’t have it.”

Indeed, Carmen did try to stand for all her fellow female racers in the industry. However, this time, too, she was backlashed.

Of course, the comments met her with anger and criticism from all drivers, either male or female. 

For instance, former world champion Jenson Button commented with his tweets that Jorda’s lack of success in F1 wasn’t her physical challenge but the lack of her talent. 

Like him, other drivers such as Pippa Mann, Jenson Button, and Leena Gade also had their disagreements.

Later, as the rage grew, Jorda deleted her tweets and gave in her another statement. 

“Having some experience of both cars, I gave my personal opinion that driving a Formula E car presents less of a physical challenge than Formula One because of the lower downforce. I would like to thank fellow drivers for sharing their opinions and respect their views greatly. I am sorry if my comments appeared to speak for all women and created all confusion — as I was reflecting merely on my own personal experience.”
-Carmen Jorda 

FIA’s Women in Motorsport

Even when Jorda was appointed for the FIA’s Women in Motorsport, many eyes turned toward her.

However, not all were for the agreement. Indeed, her no wins record stood as a big boulder in the path.

During the tenure, leading female racers stated the moves to be “incredibly disheartening” and “a backward step.”

Therefore, they bought up the question as to why Jorda was appointed instead of 2015 British GT4 champion Jamie Chadwick or GP3 racer Tatiana Calderon, or IMSA SportsCar GTD title winner Christina Nielsen. 

They brought many names into the limelight who deserved to be in the position.

Overall, it was mentioned that Jorda was appointed with no winning records, while her website depicted model photoshoots.

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Carmen Jorda | Net Worth and Endorsements

Currently, Carmen Jorda estimates to have a net worth of around $5 million. However, most of her earnings aren’t from her car racing career but through brands and editorials. 

As a matter of fact, Jorda has been the face of a brand or chosen as the ambassador for various ones like Carrera eyewear from Safilo.

Jorda was also the face of the spring Adidas by Stella McCartney presentation in Los Angeles. 

In the meantime, she was also appointed as the new ambassador for Bell & Ross’s feminine collection. Apart from it, she is also indulged in various editorial photoshoots. 

Carmen Jorda | Personal Life and Boyfriend

Jorda is currently single and is not dating anyone. Furthermore, she isn’t indulged in any scandals or controversies of such.

However, in 2008, Jorda was rumored to have dated a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer, Fonsi Nieto.

Although not much is known about their relationship tenures, many sources claim that they separated in 2010.

Not to mention, Fonsi is also the nephew of successful Grand Prix motorcycle road racer Ángel Nieto.

Besides that, she was also rumored to have dated actor Alex Gonzalez in 2017 but later broke up.

As of now, Jorda is enjoying her single life by traveling to exotic holiday destinations and spending quality time with her family and friends.

Social Media Presence

All in all, Carmen Jorda is quite active on her social platforms, and you can check on her schedules through it.

Apparently, she is on Instagram as Carmen Jorda (@carmenjorda), with 444k followers. 

Similarly, you can find her on Twitter as Carmen Jorda (@CarmenJorda), with 63.3k followers. 

Carmen Jorda | FAQs

Where does Carmen Jorda live?

Carmen Jorda currently resides in Valencia, Spain.

How many races has Carmen Jorda been entered?

According to reports, Carmen Jorda has entered 142 races to date.

Is Carmen Jorda dating Lewis Hamilton?

No, Carmen Jorda and Lewis Hamilton are not dating. They are just good friends.