Since the beginning of automobile racing, men have stood at its centre. Women, it was long assumed, were better suited to modelling cars than driving them, while engineering or managing a team remained entirely out of the question. It is precisely for this reason that seeing more women find their way onto the grid today feels so significant. And yet, women have always been a fundamental – if rare and scattered – presence in Formula 1.
Today, Red Bull counts Hannah Schmitz as Principal Strategy Engineer, Haas has Laura Muller as a race engineer, while Bernie Collins and Ruth Buscombe have established themselves as prominent strategists in F1. Elsewhere, Michaelagh Tennyson works within Red Bull’s technical pit crew, and Khloe Collins serves as a car build technician. Their work is increasingly recognised through initiatives such as In Her Corner and a growing online presence. But none of this is entirely new.
“Little pilots” and persistence
Women have been part of motorsport – and grand prix racing in particular – since its very beginnings. Figures such as Camille du Gast, Maria Antonietta Avanzo, Elisabeth Junek and Helle Nice were already competing between the 1900s and 1940s, long before the modern championship took shape.
Maria Teresa de Filippis became the first woman to qualify for an F1 Grand Prix in 1958. At that same year’s French Grand Prix, she was told by a race director that "the only helmet a woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser’s". Despite such attitudes, the woman who often labelled "il pilotino" ("the little pilot") because of her stature competed in F1, before retiring in 1959.
Even beyond the racetrack, women have played vital roles in automotive history. Even queen Elizabeth of England joined the Auxiliary Territorial Service (ATS) as a driver and mechanic during World War II, where she trained in engine maintenance, repairing trucks and ambulances, earning the nickname "Princess Auto Mechanic".
And closer to the paddock, before the age of computer automation, lap times were often recorded manually from the pit wall – frequently by girlfriends and wives of drivers, stopwatch in hand.
Proving pace, earning a place
Still, today we celebrate a special anniversary: as today marks 85 years since the birth of Lella Lombardi. The Italian remains a singular figure in F1 history: the only woman ever to score points in the world championship. She was also among the very few to qualify and compete at the highest level and later became the first woman to take part in the Race of Champions.
Lombardi’s career extended well beyond F1. She won the 6 Hours of Pergusa in 1979, the 6 Hours of Vallelunga that same year, and the 6 Hours of Mugello in 1981. In 1976, she finished second in class at the Le Mans 24 Hours.
Born in Piedmont, the daughter of a butcher, Lombardi first worked as a delivery driver for her family’s shop. It was there that her passion for driving took hold. Though initially met with hesitation at home, her ambition was embraced once she began to show genuine competitiveness in 1968.
By 1970, she had already demonstrated her ability, winning four of ten Formula 850 races in a Biraghi, before securing the championship in 1971. She then progressed to Italian Formula 3, finishing tenth in the standings in consecutive seasons and even defeating the highly regarded Maurizio Flammini at Vallelunga.
Her performances continued to attract attention. After finishing 12th in the Monaco F3 support race, Brands Hatch promoter John Webb invited her to compete in the Celebrity Escort Mexico series, where she beat names such as Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds. This led to a test in a ShellSPORT F5000 Lola T330, and a full campaign in the series in 1974.
The irony of Lombardi’s big feat
Her path to F1, however, was anything but straightforward. In 1974, Lombardi attempted to qualify with a privately-entered Brabham backed by the Automobile Club d’Italia, but without success. The car carried sponsorship from Radio Luxembourg, broadcasting on 208 metres medium wave – a detail that inspired her racing number.
That winter proved decisive. Supported by Count Vittorio Zanon, she secured a place with March Engineering for the 1975 season, alongside Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck.
At the opening race in South Africa, Lombardi became the first woman since de Filippis to qualify for a grand prix. Later that season, at the Spanish Grand Prix, she made history by becoming the first – and still only – woman to score world championship points. The result, however, came under tragic circumstances. The race was stopped after a fatal accident involving Rolf Stommelen’s car, which killed four spectators. Because the race distance was not completed, only half points were awarded, ironically leaving Lombardi with only half a point – a statistic as symbolic as it is poignant.
She continued to deliver solid performances, including a seventh-place finish at the Nurburgring. Beyond her results, Lombardi also stood out as one of the first racing drivers to be openly in a same-sex relationship, further underlining her place as a trailblazer both on and off the track.
Since her time, only three other women have attempted to compete in F1: Divina Galica, Desire Wilson and Giovanna Amati. It remains a short list – but perhaps not for much longer. With initiatives such as the F1 Academy gaining momentum, and with the visibility of women across all areas of the sport increasing, the foundations laid by those early pioneers may yet lead to a broader, long-overdue shift.
