Over her career, Lombardi started an impressive twelve F1 races, spanning the 1974-1976 seasons. But the Italian would outlast the American in the race. I went with her from Snetterton to Norwich once: 30mph all the way. She made it a mere 23 laps until she was forced to retire. F1 Unlocked, LIVE COVERAGE: Follow all the action from final practice for the Bahrain Grand Prix, Feature We miss her passion, determination and modesty.. Her sex and sexuality were not topics of conversation in the paddock. She lived well and had little trouble getting sponsorship. She was just the second female driver to ever race in the Formula One World Championship, preceded only by Maria-Teresa de Filippis' pioneering race career in 1958 and '59. Her claim to fame is shes the only woman driver to score points in Formula 1, but even that was cut in half. She was the first woman since Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958 to qualify in a championship F1 event. The race was stopped shortly thereafter and half points awarded to those who happened to occupy the top six positions at the time.". She very tenacious, she from an early age she was attracted to four wheels and motors, preferring scale models to dolls. We had a good relationship and we always agreed. With assistance from her partner Fiorenza, sister and brother-in-law, the Lella cover was soon blown by newsworthy results and, by 1967, she was contesting Italian Formula 3 in a Branca-Ford. The Indy 500's gender segregation had just been nullified, which meant NASCAR had to step up to the plate. The rest of the races were plagued with DNFs or an average finish of 14th place. Despite only driving in F1 across three seasons, Lombardi demonstrated her fearlessness nature and sheer dedication to motorsport. The 1975 Spanish Grand Prix was cut short while Lombardi was running in sixth place. More statistics by age for Lella Lombardi Career chart profile Seasons: nr of season from first GP until the last. That same year she attempted to make her Grand Prix debut in the British GP at Brands Hatch, in a Brabham BT42 rented from Bernie Ecclestone for 5,000, entered by Hexagon of Highgate and sponsored by Allie Polymer Group. She moved on to Formula Three in 1968. Vittorio Brambilla was one of only two to set a time on Friday afternoon. Formula One World ChampionshipCareer Statistics And their respect. She is the only woman to date in Formula One history to score points when she finished 6th at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix and picked up half a point. Med Cadillac (General Motors) som partner synes teamet at have konomien p plads, og en ny, moderne fabrik med Formel 1-poteantiale og -teknik er under opfrelse i Indianapolis. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix. She was much more concerned by the settings than I was, great with the mechanics and very speedy. Formula 1 Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. To optimise your browsing experience, please update your browser. Lombardi then switched to racing an Alfa Romeo in the European Touring Car Championship from 1982 until the end of her career in '87. Enjoying his most competitive spell of F1, and with time against him at 37, the oldest man in the field can perhaps be excused his lack of concern for a friend and future co-driver. Lombardi's career in the Grand Prix arena was done, but her career in motorsport was not. Wikipedia. Thats something I dont have any problems sharing with my male colleagues. However, the onset of the Second World War led her to joining the RAF as a pilot something she had previously trained as. I love motor racing and thats all I want to do. She was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. We were quite close on lap times, and what was nice with her is that she would hand the car back to me exactly as it was when I had handed it to her. Born She endeared herself to the media when she was asked how it felt to handle such big cars and replied: I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it., WATCH: 10 iconic Williams moments as the team reach 750 GPs at Monaco. By 1974 she was ready to make her Formula One debut behind the wheel of a privately entered Brabham in which, unfortunately, she didnt qualify. Qualifying was more problematic, but by the end of the season she was only two tenths shy of Mallory Park pole-sitter Ashley; the gap had been 4.6 seconds back in March. Janet Guthrie, Sarah Fisher, Lyn St James, Danica Patrick and Simona de Silvestro all raced in IndyCars, Danica winning a race at Motegi, and Simona showing a racers courage after a fiery inversion at Indianapolis. Cowell continued driving after her transition, winning the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb. Could Lella have made it, if Max and Robin had listened and believed her comments, and discovered that cracked rear bulkhead sooner? ), She is commemorated by a bust in her birthplace Frugarolo, near Alessandria, and her eponymous team in Lombardy exists to this day. ITA After her Formula 1 career, Lombardi had success in sports car racing. There were two other female drivers in the field: American Janet Guthrie and Belgian Christine Beckers. Its difficult to celebrate a points-scoring position in those circumstances. Highlights include: being crowned the Italian Formula Three runner up in 1968 and winning the Italian Formula 850 Series in 1970. We know who could win the F1 championship in 2023, but who will have the car to maximise their talent? During one of the most controversial weekends in F1 history, set amid a notoriously dangerous Barcelona street circuit . First Race She was, like many female drivers, not particularly conscious of her genderit was all about the racing. #Grand Prix: nr of GrandPrix in all seasons. Some team mates will use up the car letting their ego get in the way trying to beat you, but she had no ego there. Her legacy, however, was assured 40 years ago when, on a hill overlooking Barcelona, she scored that half-point and proved her point: I am not a feminist, only a free and independent woman., The first race of 2023 is yet to be run, but Ferrari is already downplaying its chances in the Bahrain Grand Prix, and pinning its hopes for the F1 season on catching up with upgrades, IndyCar might be running semi-vintage machinery, but the racing excitement and driver pool is second to none in his season preview Preston Lerner asks if 2023 can be its rebirth, Ferrari's ability to challenge the searing pace of Max Verstappen and Red Bull in 2023 rests on it remedying its engine reliability woes, says Mark Hughes. She worked hard to get what she wanted. Lombardi died of breast cancer three weeks before her 51st birthday. Retirements in Belgium and Sweden were followed by a 14th place in Holland, 18th in France and another retirement in Great Britain. The world in general, and motor racing in particular, was a less enlightened place in the mid-'70s than present day. Perhaps its the legacy of cars being thought of as symbolic of straight men or the continual presence of concepts like the Grid Girls in F1, a tradition which was only recently discontinued. She wasnt far off team mate John Watsons times initially in a similar car, but failed to qualify by nine-tenths after a driveshaft failure. 1975 would prove to be an eventful season for the March Team, as Lombardi scored a Championship point in the Spanish Grand Prix. However, she was prevented from starting due to an ignition problem. Starting in karting and moving to Formula Monza and Formula Three, Lombardi advanced through racing until she reached Formula One. Recognised by his signature yellow Brabham, Beuttler remained forever, a dash of colour in a grey field. Just racing and fishing.. She died of breast cancer in 1992 at the age of 50, survived by her partner Fiorenza, who had been by her side for much of her career. Lombardis place in motorsport history is firmly fixed. Her father found her passion for racing difficult to understand, but was secretly proud of her achievement when, in 1968, she finished runner-up to Franco Bernabei. With the exception of Monaco, she qualified to start all of the remaining races. The joyless Spanish Grand Prix of April 1975 ended in tragedy when the rear wing of Rolf Stommelens leading Hill failed with catastrophic result: dead bodies pinned beneath its wreck. View the profiles of people named Lella Lombardi. Lombardi is one of two female drivers to qualify for Formula One and is the only female who scored points in Formula One. Died She quickly discovered a love for the cars but had to hide this from her parents at a time when female drivers were looked down upon. She also enjoyed success in the European Touring Car Championship in 1982, when a series of class victories helped Alfa Romeo to the title. Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was, and still is, an inspiration to many women in motorsport. From Wikimedia Commons, the free media repository. She raced in Italian F3 for the next two years, finishing 10th in the championship both times and beating rated hotshoe Maurizio Flammini in a heat at Vallelunga. [10], Lombardi retired from racing in 1988. Roberta Cowells motoring history is often eclipsed by her reputation as the first person to undergo gender reassignment surgery in Britain, in her case from male to female. Just her racing. She continued to impress, and ran the series in 1974. I wish we could know what Lombardis career could have been had she been listened to in F1, if shed been more adamant at being the center of attention now and again. Quietly impressive, it was much better than her Montjuch performance. Lella was far from being the first female female pioneer in racing. But she wanted me to be just as fast and was always giving me tips and help. You can update your preferences, withdraw your consent at any time, and see a detailed description of the types of cookies we and our partners use in our Cookie Policy. Poor Lella, shed had bad traction all along. There were only two drivers per car back then, and we managed the two-and-a-bit-hour stints easily. Unfortunately, a major miscalculation in the Jean Sage-run team led to their retirement, when they ran out of fuel. She didnt care. Two years later she further proved her ability as she won four of the 10 Formula 850 races in a Biraghi, and went on to take the championship in 1971. In the 1970s, ROC was more of an all star race than the challenge runs in different cars that it is today. Even Jochen Mass, declared the precipitate winner after 29 laps, scrambled from his McLaren with a face like thunder and threatened violence to smug officials. This was the race stopped prematurely at only 29 laps after Rolf Stommelens leading Hill had lost its rear wing and crashed heavily, killing onlookers. Her best result was ninth at Riverside, but notably when James qualified 11th at Ontario, Lella was only two places behind the man who would be world champion in 1976. She raced a Lola-Chevrolet and finished 14th. [13] Journalist Phil Pash reports that though Lombardi viewed racing as a masculine sport, she succeeded regardless because of her competitive spirit. [13] Among others who comment on the effects of Lombardis legacy is Matt Majendie, who writes about Jamie Chadwick. Desire could have cut the F1 mustard in the right car, but I also thought Lella was better than fortune allowed her to look. Held in Barcelona's Parc de Montjuc, later the site of the 1992 Summer Olympic Games, the race passed into legend for other reasons. This perhaps shows us how much attention was paid to the lives of female racers at the time. She finished fifth overall, with four fourth places, two fifths and three sixths. But its boss Charles James wanted to be involved lock, stock and barrel. Lombardis friends remember her fondly as someone humble who enjoyed her life but understood its difficulties. Lella Lombardi races, wins and teams | Motorsport Database - Motor Sport Magazine Find out about British F1 driver, Lella Lombardi, their career, history and character information incl. (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap. Its perfect. On retirement from racing in 1988, Lombardi formed her own team Lombardi Autosport. It wasnt a publicity stunt. Tatiana Calderon follows in their wheeltracks this season. Marie-Claude believes that she and Lella could have won Le Mans in 1975. Back then it was an endurance race rather than a sprint and we were quite competitive. Create your free account today and explore our weekly auctions curated by our team of experts. Maria Grazia Lombardi aka Lella Lombardi (1941-1992) was a female racing driver from Italy who recorded 17 participations (12 starts) in the Formula One World Championship between 1974 and 1976, setting the record as a woman who raced the most in Formula 1. She finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, and subsequently, the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson. Something, however, did get lost in translation. Races Well, I dont agree at all. She failed to qualify RAM Racings BT44B at Brands where Divina Galica, the Webbs latest fast lady, outperformed her and in Germany the car was impounded by court injunction. Facebook gives people the power. She was very professional and we enjoyed working with her. Motorsports have always been popular with all kinds of people. But history will remember that day differentlyit was the only time in the history of Formula One that a woman has ever scored points in a championship event. In 1974, Lombardi became the first woman to race at the Race of Champions at Brand Hatch. Sincethe 20th century, women have risen from being second-class citizens in previous eras, to now running countries, corporations and, in truth, men. [15] As an example of successful women produced by Formula One,[16] Lombardi is credited with making Formula One accessible to women. Lella Lombardi is one of only two women to start a world championship race in the history of F1 Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi, the only female driver to finish in a points position in a Formula One world championship motor race, was born on this day in 1941 in Frugarolo, near Alessandria in Piedmont. Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. As a greater number of females participate in entry-level racing from a young age, we will eventually see another one meet and surpass the groundbreaking achievements of Lella Lombardi. The F1 cars of that time were no easy feat to manage worlds away from the control of today. Beuttler was an excellent amateur driver and dabbled semi-professionally in F1, competing in a number of races over the years. After she had finished 12th in the prestigious Monaco F3 support race, an impressed John Webb of Brands Hatch fame put her in his Celebrity Escort Mexico series, where she beat Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds. Neither of her parents drove and Lella, as she became known, enjoyed her earliest experiences behind the wheel from driving the delivery truck for her father's salami factory. She is the only woman to win points in Formula One, winning half a point in the Spanish Grand Prix. Driver Information This was Lombardis breakthrough year. Points Lella Lombardis racing career has influenced the perceptions of subsequent generations of females in racing. Lombardi also competed numerous times at 24 Hours of Le Mans with her best result, a ninth place finish, coming in 1976. The male gaze has shaped motorsports, which is why those drivers that operate outside of its sight and yet succeed within it, are so remarkable. At the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Lombardi had a one-off drive for Williams. Her best result of the season would come at her last Grand Prix, 12th place in Austria. This feature is currently not available because you need to provide consent to functional cookies. Siddiq Saunderson Moved to L.A. and Immediately Bought a Prius, Millennials and Zillennials Can't Get Enough of Manual Transmissions, Dollar Flight Club Premium Plus (Lifetime Subscription), Tesla Investor Day 2023 Was Pretty Great if You Ignored Elon. She was also a lesbian but Lombardis sexuality was never center stage. Her team-mate was established series front-runner Ian Ashley: She was the first woman racing driver to seriously impress me. [8] That winter, she met an Italian nobleman, Count Vittorio Zanon, who sponsored her entrance into F1. Born in Frugarolo, Piedmont, she participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 20 July 1974. Regardless of everything though, she still defined herself by her love of motorsports and is remembered by her words: I prefer to have an accident than to fall in love. Lella Lombardi is still the only woman ever to score F1 championship points. Lombardi won the Fiat-engined Formula 850 Championship of 1970 in a Biraghi, scoring four victories at Monza against future F1 DNQ-ers Alberto Colombo and Giorgio Francia. Robin Herd freely admitted in an interview we did in 2009 that he and Max Mosley had had her over in 1975, and said that he was most impressed with her performance finishing seventh at the Nurburgring in a race of attrition as she was battling with a puncture. She has also driven the highest number on a Formula One car - #208, which was used on her debut at the 1974 British Grand Prix, but did not qualify. No trouble.. By then she was fighting the cancer that would eventually take her lifeMarch 1992 at the young age of 50. The damaged monocoque was still in the workshop so we took it apart and discovered a crack in its cast-magnesium rear bulkhead. Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. Lella Lombardi (and every other woman to ever compete in F1 for that matter) is shit and didn't deserve to score anything. That led to a test in one of Jackie Epsteins ShellSPORT F5000 Lola T330s. It was a deep irony that when Maria Grazia Lella Lombardi became the only woman to score a World Championship point in only her second GP, in Spain in a works March 751 in 1975 it was actually only half a point. She won [from the third row, beating Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds] and we became very friendly and kept in touch. Complete European F5000 Championship results, Complete Formula One World Championship results, Complete Shellsport International Series results, Complete British Formula One Championship results, Complete Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft results, "Information about Lella Lombardi from historicracing.com", "Trailblazing racer Lella Lombardi remembered, 30 years on from her death", "Pitstop pioneers: the queer drivers who changed motorsports", "Trailblazing racer Lella Lombardi remembered, 30 years on from her death | Formula 1", "Lombardi, Lella (1942) | Encyclopedia.com", "Pioniere. In 1979 she won both the 6 hours of Pergusa and 6 hours of Vallelunga races. In fact she had already come close to making her GP debut. But even today we associate motorsports with something overly fraternal. Wins Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont in Italy. Lombardi is the only woman to ever participate in the race of champions Feeling this to be an overt bid by NASCAR to discredit her operation, her offer of help to these sisters-in-arms, though genuine, was made through gritted teeth. Her next two entries at Le Mans were not quite as great. She did her own thing. Lombardi is one of two female drivers to qualify for Formula One and is the only female who scored points in Formula One. Stamina was no problem, either, because you couldnt drive flat out back then and expect to last the distance.. Wed been a disaster in terms of sponsorship since bursting into F1 in 1970, says Herd. Lombardis most successful season was 1979. Elford: When asked in a press conference how she was coping with such a hefty car, she replied, I dont have to carry it, I just have to drive it.. Though Zanon, a huge fan of Petersons, smoothed matters by helping her find employment elsewhere, the transition was not without problem. The subsequent 75 V6 model was less successful and so Lombardi, though she had managed an eighth place in the 1986 Spa 24 Hours co-driven by Drovandi and Roberto Castagna, switched to a Ford Sierra RS Cosworth for 1987. She wasnt one of those tossers that arrive in F1 from time to time. Maria Grazia 'Lella' Lombardi(March 26, 1941 - March 3, 1992) was an Italian female racing driver the second woman to start a Formula One race, after Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958, and the last woman to do so to date. Lella was the perfect co-driver, says Beckers. "My directing partner Vincent Tran and I first became aware of Lella Lombardi in 2018. She did her own thing. She always worked hard, was easy on the car and understood how to get what she wanted from it. History of Motorsport . Having survived being held as a prisoner of war, she returned to racing after WWII, founding her own motor racing team in 1946 and competing in a number of races across Europe. I liked Lella a lot, Marie-Claude says. If shed been a bit more glamorous perhaps more people would have noticed.. Lombardi's performances in 1975 were hampered by a cracked rear bulkhead Robin Herd freely admitted in an interview we did in 2009 that he and Max Mosley had "had her over" in 1975, and said that he was most impressed with her performance finishing seventh at the Nurburgring in a race of attrition as she was battling with a puncture. HIGHLIGHTS: Watch the action from the first practice session of the new F1 season in Bahrain, WATCH: Ride onboard as Alonso sets the fastest lap in Friday practice in Bahrain, Hulkenberg points out area where Haas 'have a lot of work to do' despite taking P5 in FP2, 2003-2023 Formula One World Championship Limited. While failing to qualify, Pete Lyons, arguably the leading F1 journalist of that era, nevertheless described Lombardi'sintroduction to the world of Formula One like this: "Lella Lombardi drove her BT42 the same chassis with which Pace failed to qualify in France in a brisk enough, and clean enough, manner to impress people favourably.". At the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, Lombardi scored half a point, making her the only woman to ever score any championship points in Formula 1. Lombardi kept her personal affairs particularly quiet to protect the identity of her lover, Fiorenza. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States. She was in an unreliable car whose problems were only intensified by the fact that the mechanics didnt take Lombardi seriously when she reported complaints to do with the handling. She raced regularly for March in F1 in 1975 with backing from Count Googie Zanon, retiring an old 741 with fuel system problems on her debut in South Africa, when she became the only woman after de Filippis to qualify for an official GP (ahead of Wilson Fittipaldi and Graham Hill), then scored that half point in only her second outing, the controversial Spanish race. However, as were her wishes, the team remained active after her death and remains so today. Mike Beuttler was technically the first openly gay F1 driver ever. Formula 1 was very important for her and her friend Fiorenza. She worked hard to get what she wanted. Lella only complained about the inequality of Formula 1 because nobody had listened to her about changes for the car. Discover moreclassic cars| classic motorcycles and scooters, The story of the woman who invented the road trip, Attic stories: engines and ingenuity with Paola Lagnena, The customisable Mini Coopers that everyone wanted. The accident shortened the race but Lombardi still secured the only F1 championship points for a female ever and the first for somebody openly queer. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Born in 1941 in Frugarolo, Italy, Lombardi first started driving as the delivery person for her family shop (they were butchers). Lombardis uncanny knack of pulling fish from the sea became apparent when they stayed on NASCAR boss Bill Frances boat in the Bahamas. Delightful. Purtroppo, il 3 marzo del 1992, morta di cancro. The race continued for another four laps, resulting in Lombardis sixth-place finish. ", "The rest of the drivers proceeded to put on a display of shunting never before seen. But her 1975 season, too, was a pretty unfortunate year. Explore our range of classic cars and spark your own racing career. Nationality Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. After a further two category victories in 1971, at Monza and Vallelunga, she returned to F3 in 1972 and, with her Lotus 69 running under the Jolly Club umbrella, finished 10th in the standings.