- Maria Teresa de Filippis
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Maria Teresa de Filippis Born 11 November 1926
Naples, ItalyFormula One World Championship career Nationality 
ItalianActive years 1958 - 1959 Teams Maserati, Behra-Porsche Races 5 (3 starts) Championships 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Career points 0 Pole positions 0 Fastest laps 0 First race 1958 Monaco Grand Prix Last race 1959 Monaco Grand Prix Maria Teresa de Filippis (born 11 November 1926) is a former Italian racing driver noted as being the first woman to race in Formula One. She participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 18 May 1958, but scored no championship points.
Contents
Biography
De Filippis was born on 11 November 1926 in Naples, Italy.[1] She was a keen horse rider in her teenage years.[2]
Starting out in motor racing
At the age of 22, de Filippis began her racing career. Two of her brothers told her that she would not be able to go very fast, goading her and making a bet that she would be slow. She won her first race, driving a Fiat 500 on a 10 km drive between Salerno and Cava de' Tirreni. She went on to drive in the Italian sports car championship, finishing second in the 1954 season. Seeing her potential, Maserati brought her in as the works driver.[2]
Formula One career
Maserati 250Fs in 1957
Maserati were a successful Formula One chassis manufacturer in the 1950s, supplying several teams and winning numerous races. In 1957 Juan Manuel Fangio won the drivers title in a Maserati 250F,[1] his fifth and final championship win.[3] The team officially withdrew from the sport at the end of the year but many of the cars remained, being driven by privateers.[4] On 18 May 1958 de Filippis was given the opportunity to enter the Monaco Grand Prix, the second round of the 1958 Formula One season, in one of the 250Fs. Of the 31 entrants only half set a time good enough to qualify, with de Filippis missing out alongside fellow debutant and future Formula One Management and Formula One Administration president Bernie Ecclestone. De Filippis' time of 1'50.8 was 5.8 seconds behind the qualifying time of the fastest 16 which included future world champions Mike Hawthorn, Jack Brabham, and Graham Hill in his first race.[5][6][7]
The 1958 Belgian Grand Prix allowed all drivers to compete with no cut-off for a qualifying time. De Filippis qualified in last place, nearly 44 seconds off Tony Brooks' pole position time. Although she was lapped twice in the 24 lap race she managed to finish in 10th place as nine other cars failed to finish.[8] This would prove to be her only race finish.[1]
At the following race, the French Grand Prix at Reims-Gueux on 6 July 1958, de Fillipis was unable to compete. She claimed in a 2006 interview that the French race director said "The only helmet a woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser's" and prevented her from taking part.[2]
Fangio gave de Filippis plenty of advice during the season. In her 2006 interview she recalls that Fangio told her "You go too fast, you take too many risks".[2]
De Filippis joined the Behra-Porsche RSK team for 1959 but again failed to qualify at the Monaco Grand Prix. Her time of 1'47.8 was only 3 seconds off the lowest qualifying pace and a further 1 second behind team mate Wolfgang von Trips.[9] It was her final attempt at Grand Prix qualification, though she was still active in motor racing.[1]
Racing retirement
1958 was a tragic year in Formula One with the death of several drivers.[4] Porsche team leader Jean Behra died in a racing accident on 1 August 1959 while driving in the sports car support race for the 1959 German Grand Prix at AVUS.[10] De Filippis was supposed to drive at that event and was devastated by deaths of several friends during her time in the sport and especially that of Behra. She left the circuit and turned her back on motor racing for 20 years.[2]
Legacy
It was another 15 years until another woman raced in Formula One. Fellow Italian Lella Lombardi competed between 1974 and 1976 and remains the only female to have finished a Formula One race in a point-scoring position. Three other women competed in the sport, most recently Giovanna Amati in 1992.[11]
Complete Formula One World Championship results
(key)
Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 WDC Points 1958 Maria Teresa de Filippis Maserati 250F Maserati
Straight-6ARG MON
DNQNED 500 BEL
10FRA GBR GER ITA
RetMOR NC 0 Scuderia Centro Sud POR
Ret1959 Dr Ing F Porsche KG Behra-Porsche RSK (F2) Porsche Flat-4 MON
DNQ500 NED FRA GBR GER POR ITA USA NC 0 References
- ^ a b c d Williamson, Martin. "Maria Teresa de Filippis". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/maserati/motorsport/driver/732.html. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ^ a b c d e Eve, James (5 March 2006). "Maria Teresa De Filippis". Observer Sport Monthly. Guardian News and Media Limited. http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,,1720870,00.html. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
- ^ Donaldson, Gerald. "Juan Manuel Fangio". The Official Formula 1 Website. Formula One World Championship Ltd. http://www.formula1.com/teams_and_drivers/hall_of_fame/268/. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ a b "Hawthorn's title in a season of tragedy". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/season/1336.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "1958 Monaco Grand Prix". The Official Formula 1 Website. Formula One World Championship Ltd. http://www.formula1.com/results/season/1958/679/. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Monaco Grand Prix 1958 / Results". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/monaco/motorsport/race/1454.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Graham Hill". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/driver/734.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Belgian Grand Prix 1958 / Results". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/race/1457.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Monaco Grand Prix 1959 / Results". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/race/1464.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ "Cooper powers Jack Brabham to the title". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/season/1337.html. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
- ^ Williamson, Martin (4 April 2011). "Queens of speed". ESPN. http://en.espnf1.com/f1/motorsport/story/44865.html. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
Categories:- 1926 births
- Living people
- Italian racecar drivers
- Italian Formula One drivers
- Female Formula One drivers
- People from Naples
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