No trouble.. Desire could have cut the F1 mustard in the right car, but I also thought Lella was better than fortune allowed her to look. [12] According to The Multimedia Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World, because of Lella Lombardi, there are more women involved in other aspects of Formula One, especially "traditionally female" jobs such as modeling. Lombardi is one of two female drivers to qualify for Formula One and is the only female who scored points in Formula One. Formula 1 Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Her F1 debut came in the tragic Spanish Grand Prix of 1975, where a car lost control and killed four spectators. The 5000 we spent renting a car from Bernie Ecclestone was our only investment in Lella, says Angela Webb. La Lombardi non aveva ancora compiuto 51 anni ed stata sepolta nel cimitero di Frugarolo, nell'alessandrino, suo paese natale. Painful. She was survived by her partner, Fiorenza. She wasnt interested in fashion and usually wore trousers if she was in civvies. Or become a seller if you've got a car to sell. While she remains one of the elite few women who've raced in Formula One, and the only of them to gain a score, motorsport continues to evolve, and in many ways, reflects the social progress seen elsewhere. But the Italian would outlast the American in the race. I don't know how you can positively spin that as earning it on merit. Cowell had a family, she was a war veteran and an avid motoring enthusiast and racer. She was sure of her illness by 1985. At that time, sixth place was the final points-scoring position in a race. Her career is defined by a success halfway taken away from her, let down by lack of sponsors and unreliable cars. She scraped together enough money to go racing and competed in any car she could get her hands on. She had an image to keep: Im tough so dont mess with me. People were staring and peeping. This approach works for an endless parade of nobody male drivers, and it got Lella close enough to just grasp at history, at least for a moment, before it all started to slip away from her. She finished, but she wasnt driving a particularly great car. The irony of Beuttlers racing record is that even though he achieved five top-10 finishes in the 28 races he took part in, he never managed to secure any points though todays regulations would have awarded him some. There were two other female drivers in the field: American Janet Guthrie and Belgian Christine Beckers. Im not terribly conscious of there being a difference between male and female in this sort of thing. 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. Lombardi, in contrast, had nothing to lose and charmed the media by peeking over the language barrier. Lombardi returned to F1 in 1976 for the British Grand Prix but failed to qualify the aging RAM Racing Brabham BT44 she was piloting. Born Maria Grazia Lombardi on the 26th March 1941, Lomardi grew up in Frugarolo in the Piedmont area of Italy, where her first job saw her drive the delivery van for her familys butcher shop. Points Her success gave visibility to trans people and a narrative the public hadnt come into contact with that transitions werent smokescreens for the perceived undercurrent of male homosexuality. Instead, it was her achievements that did the talking for her. Lombardi kept her personal affairs particularly quiet to protect the identity of her lover, Fiorenza. She was charming but stubborn and independent, and a tremendously careful road driver. asks Mark Hughes. She always worked hard, was easy on the car and understood how to get what she wanted from it. 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. A successful placing in the 1965 Formula Monza, however, gave Lombardi away, when her parents read about her in the papers. Lella Lombardi Herd: Max [Mosley], a much better engineer than people might think, asked me if he could borrow Vittorio for a few laps. She was really nice, and a good partner to share a car with, something I was not used to. 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. ), (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (note: results shown in bold indicate pole position; results in italics indicate fastest lap), (key) (Bold Pole position awarded by qualifying time. [14] This need for financial support is combated by the rise of the W-series, which started in October 2018. Lomardi had a successful junior career in the lead up to her time in F1. Behind the wheel, female drivers compete at the highest levels. Looking back on her points-scoring race, Lombardi told the New York Times: I dont think it dawned on me that I was the very first woman to collect championship points. #Grand Prix: nr of GrandPrix in all seasons. That certainly got their attention. We knew what shed done beforehand and clearly she was very capable.. At the Spanish Grand Prix in 1975, former butcher's delivery driver and ex Formula 3 Championship runner up, Lella Lombardi, became the first, and still only, female driver to win F1 World Championship points. This perhaps shows us how much attention was paid to the lives of female racers at the time. She finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix but the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson, who became available after breaking away from Lotus. Thats the one I remember. Mike Beuttler was technically the first openly gay F1 driver ever. Highlights include: being crowned the Italian Formula Three runner up in 1968 and winning the Italian Formula 850 Series in 1970. Sadly, after a breast injury in 1985 she started to suffer from the cancer that finally claimed her on March 3, 1992 in Milans San Camillo Clinic, days short of her 51st birthday. Starting in karting and moving to Formula Monza and Formula Three, Lombardi advanced through racing until she reached Formula One. Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont in Italy. But at 25 laps into the race, Rolf Stommelen crashed his car and killed five spectators. She remembered how foreign people appreciated her but at the same time she wanted to be known in Italy despite the difficulties of being accepted in a very male world.. In 1971, Lomardi added the Formula Ford Mexico championship title to her collection. Lella Lombardi will be remembered for her achievements in motorsport, her Formula 1 record and being one of only three openly LGBTQ+ F1 drivers. She continued to impress, and ran the series in 1974. And Lombardi did. In fact we got zero PR from it. By then she was fighting the cancer that would eventually take her lifeMarch 1992 at the young age of 50. Lombardi succeeded at qualifying this time and would be in the field for the South African Grand Prix. She was a racing driver first and foremost. But she wasnt done with racing quite yet. Proudly created withWix.com. No trouble. This was followed by the car being impounded at its next race in Germany, as the team had a dispute with a former driver. That she was a woman was an irrelevancy to Lella. As a trans woman, Cowell won the 1957 Shelsley Walsh Speed Hill Climb, one of the worlds oldest motorsports events. Formula 1 was at its most macho: James Hunt was having sex for breakfast; the Monza Gorilla was muscling a works March; and, on a hill overlooking Barcelona, officials, team bosses and drivers were at each others throats. [14] Majendie argues this by citing Lombardis example as a racer, who despite her gender, successfully entered Formula One. Even her major success that year was tinged with tragedy. Thats why we were strong. Unfortunately, her iconic achievement has been curtailed by the . Lombardi also competed numerous times at 24 Hours of Le Mans with her best result, a ninth place finish, coming in 1976. But Lombardi was tenacious. Premier Investment Group, LLC. Its hard to be competitive when you dont have the equipment to do so. She had the strength of a man but a womans sensibility: she was kind and transmitted serenity. Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. Career Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on March 3, 1992. Lombardis first F1 attempt was at the British Grand Prix in 1974 driving a Brabham supported by the Italian Automobile Club. Maria Grazia Lombardi had spent 10 years climbing motor racings rungs, beginning with the Monza-based Formula 875. The Indy 500's gender segregation had just been nullified, which meant NASCAR had to step up to the plate. 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. 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. Rather than ask to be entirely funded in her efforts behind the wheel of the Brabham, she paid her way herself. Lombardi's career in the Grand Prix arena was done, but her career in motorsport was not. 2023 by Bump & Beyond. 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. 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. Lella was the perfect co-driver, says Beckers. She performed exceptionally well. Fastest Laps By the time she arrived at Monaco in early June she had scored half of the six victories that would help her become Italys Ford Escort Mexico Challenge champion. Could Lella have made it, if Max and Robin had listened and believed her comments, and discovered that cracked rear bulkhead sooner? Stamina was no problem, either, because you couldnt drive flat out back then and expect to last the distance.. She was a racing driver first and foremost. Lella Lombardi is a name firmly etched into the motorsport history books. Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo. Two of his fellows, his brother Wilson and Arturo Merzario, retired after completingone token lap. But she wanted me to be just as fast and was always giving me tips and help. READ MORE: 'Finding a new challenge is my motivation' Jamie Chadwick on whats next after clinching her second W Series title. Yes, I would like to receive communications including news, special offers. Philanthropic enthusiast Count Zanon agreed and offered March 50,000 to run Lombardi in F1 in 1975. Lombardi made history for two reasons at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix - she was the first woman to score points in a Grand Prix, and the first driver to score a career total of 0.5 points, after the accident of Rolf Stommelen which stopped the Grand Prix before half-distance, remaining the only person to achieve either of these. As Angela Webb, one of the race promoters who knew Lella, says in a retrospective in Motorsport Magazine: She stayed in Italy and flew to each race, yet never asked for expenses. In 1976, Lombardi was confirmed at March Engineering alongside Brambilla and Stuck. [15] As an example of successful women produced by Formula One,[16] Lombardi is credited with making Formula One accessible to women. 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. In '74 the title was won by Bob Evans in a T332. In 1979 she won both the 6 hours of Pergusa and 6 hours of Vallelunga races. She moved on to Formula Three in 1968. 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. The Grand Prix cars of the '70s were not very reliable, particularly the further down the grid you traveled. Wikipedia. Janet Guthrie and Christine Beckers were competing alongside Lombardi, who finished in 31st. Later that season, partnered by Giorgio Francia, she won the Vallelunga Six Hours; the pair would go on to win the 1981 Mugello Six Hours as well. Purtroppo, il 3 marzo del 1992, morta di cancro. 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 tried to blame her breast pain on a sailing injury, but her condition degenerated so rapidly that there was no way it could have been anything minor. 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. In Formula One, more than any other branch of the sport, if you are not in the right car at the right time, then you stand little chance of success. First Race 3 March 1992(1992-03-03) (aged50)Milan, Italy But he skipped 1952 season. Soon she broke through worldwide, winning the Formula Ford Mexico series and made her Formula One debut in 1974. In 1975, Lombardi joined the March team for a full seasonat that time alongside the macho Vittorio Brambilla (nicknamed the Monza Gorilla) and Hans-Joachim Stuck. Towards the end of the test she pitted because she correctly thought that the car was developing a puncture; not severe but enough to make a difference.. She won [from the third row, beating Jacques Laffite and Mike Wilds] and we became very friendly and kept in touch. And she left as her legacy her own racing team, Lella Lombardi Autosport, the question of what might have been, and a shining example of how to live life on your own terms, with your whole being focused on your target and not what others think of you. But her 1975 season, too, was a pretty unfortunate year. Lombardis involvement was short lived as she died of breast cancer on the 3rd March 1992 at the untimely age of fifty. [12] Lombardi is also used as one of the reference points for females in racing. She was 50 years old and was buried in Frugarolo. Lella Lombardi Driver Information Born 26 March 1941 Frugarolo, Italy Died 3 March 1992 (aged 50) Milan, Italy Nationality ITA Formula One World Championship Career Statistics Status Deceased World Titles 0 Races 18 (12 starts) Poles 0 Wins 0 Podiums 0 Fastest Laps 0 Points 0.5 First Race 1974 British Grand Prix Last Race 1976 Austrian Grand Prix We would never fight. While apremature end to a life and career that had not reachedits full potential, Lella Lombardi nevertheless made her point; no one can take that away from her. Here, Lombardi ran her best race of the year according to observers, finishing seventh, just missing out on acquiring a full point. Her next-best finish was a seventh place at the German Grand Prix. She and Fiorenza were a beautiful couple, reserved; the spotlight was never on them. When Lella Lombardi climbed out of her Matra after the shortened 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, she didnt believe shed done anything unique. She drove for the factory March team for the whole of the 1975 . PhotosCourtesy of and Copyright to Sutton Motorsport Images, Sign up for more restomod content to add horsepower to your inbox. Racing was her passion, and she was focused on it wholly.