45 years ago, a unique event took place in the world of auto racing - Italian Lella Lombardi took sixth place at the Spanish Grand Prix stage and became the first woman who managed to score points in the overall classification of Formula 1. Until now, no one has succeeded in surpassing or even repeating its achievement.
“I love racing and this is the only thing I want to do. Not to say that I see the difference between men and women from this point of view. I like the feeling of being the first to drive past the checkered flag. But I do not mind sharing it with my male colleagues, ”said Lombardi herself.
Maria Grazia Lombardi, better known by her baby nickname Lella, was born March 26, 1941 in a butcher's family in the small commune of Frugarolo, located in the Piedmont region. Little is known about the childhood and youth of the future racer, so her getting into motorsport is surrounded by legends.
According to one version, her parents did not know how to drive a car, so she had to drive a truck to deliver products from a family butcher's shop. So driving has grown for a girl into an occupation of a lifetime.
Another story says that in childhood, Lella was fond of handball and played for the local team as a defender. In one of the matches, she was injured, and a girl on Alfa Romeo volunteered to take her to the hospital. The athlete was so impressed with her driving style, the way she tacked through the streets of the city at high speed, that she decided to certainly learn how to drive a car.
At 24, Lombardi bought used Fiat with the saved money. In motorsport, she was brought by a familiar racer, for whom she worked as an assistant. First, she acted as a navigator when he participated in the rally, and then she herself moved behind the wheel.
From that moment, her career began to develop rapidly. Lella began to take part in local circuit races, and in 1968 for the first time she entered the start of the Italian Formula 3, where she took second place at the end of the season. In 1973, the athlete won the Formula Ford Mexico, after which she was noticed by Shell representatives and offered sponsorship. In 1974, she performed in the more prestigious Formula 5000.
- Lombardi with awards
- Gettyimages.ru
- © Mondadori Portfolio
With the submission of the press and fans, Lombardi began to be called the “Turin Tigress”. However, this formidable nickname was hardly combined with her character. Despite success in motorsport, she remained modest and even somewhat withdrawn. At the same time, the Italian impressed not only with her driving abilities, but also with her technical knowledge and feeling of the car.
“She was a charming, but at the same time stubborn and independent girl, as well as an extremely neat driver. Once I was traveling with her from Snetterton to Norwich: all the way we did not accelerate faster than 50 km / h. Painfully long. People looked at us and honked. She didn't care, ”promoter Angela Webb recalled.
Lella's debut in Formula 1 took place in 1974. It is worth noting that in those days, the appearance of a woman in the “royal races” was an unusual event, but not unprecedented. Another Italian, Maria Teresa de Philippis, became a pioneer 16 years earlier. Her best result was 10th place at the Belgian Grand Prix. In the remaining races, she either did not reach the finish line or did not qualify.
Lombardi, too, began her journey in Formula 1 unsuccessfully. Speaking behind the wheel of Brabham, she could not qualify for the British Grand Prix. The following season, the racer joined March and Vittorio Brambilla thanks to sponsorship from renowned philanthropist Vittorio Zanona. March 1, 1975, she took part in her first race in South Africa. Out of 78 circles, she managed to complete only 23, after which the car began to have problems with the fuel system.
After almost two months, the Turin Tigress qualified for the Spanish Grand Prix, which was held in those years on the Montjuic Park highway in Barcelona.
Lombardi started in the 24th race, far behind Nick Lauda, who took the pole position. However, the leader dropped out at the very beginning of the race due to an accident, of which there were a huge number that day. As a result, of the 25 participants at the time of stopping on the highway, only eight remained. Lella took sixth place, behind Mass by two laps. Behind her were the British Tony Bryze and John Watson.
Due to the fact that the pilots did not have time to drive three fourth distances, all of their prize points were divided into two. Thus, Lella received 0.5 points and became the first woman to earn points for the World Cup.
- Lombardi race car at the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975
- Gettyimages.ru
- © Bernard Cahier
In the subsequent stages, she was not able to repeat her success, although she was close to him in August of that year at the stage in Germany. Then the Italian took seventh place, starting from the 29th position, and without earning points in the overall standings. At the end of the season in which Lauda won, she became the 21st.
The following year, after the first race, Lombardi moved to RAM Racing, but she still could not earn points. The highest position for the Italian was the 12th line at the Austrian Grand Prix. It is interesting that at that time the only time in the history of Formula 1 in one season two women were officially registered at once - the British Divina Galisa took part in the qualification of the home stage for her.
After the 1976 season, Lombardi left the “Royal Race” and tried herself on other classes of cars. Her assets included participation in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans, NASCAR, DTM and other competitions.
In the mid-80s, the athlete began to have health problems - he was worried about chest pains. In this regard, she was forced to end her career in 1988. However, she did not leave the world of car racing and founded her own racing team Lombardi Autosport. Relatives said that until the last days she worried about the fate of her offspring and asked them to support him after her death.
Lombardi died on March 3, 1992 in Milan from breast cancer.
The Turin Tigress did not have too many successors in Formula 1. In 1980, Desiree Wilson was unable to qualify for the British Grand Prix, and Giovanna Amaty three times to no avail in the qualifications in the 1992 season.
However, the list of female test pilots is much longer. For example, many fans still remember Spaniard Maria de Villota from the Russian-British team Marussia F1 Team, who died in 2013 from the consequences of the accident at the Daxford airfield. And the test pilot Williams Susie Wolff in 2014 managed to take part in the training races in the framework of the Grand Prix of Great Britain and Germany.