Lella Lombardi

Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 – 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix from 1974 to 1976. Lombardi was the second female driver to qualify for Formula One, after Maria Teresa de Filippis, and is the only female driver who finished within the points in Formula One, having scored half a point in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. Lombardi was also the first woman to qualify and compete in the Race of Champions at Brands Hatch, and raced in sports cars. She won the 1979 6 Hours of Pergusa, the 1979 6 Hours of Vallelunga and the 1981 6 Hours of Mugello, and finished 2nd in her class at the 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Lombardi's story has impacted generations of racers. Her experience has shaped the involvement of women in racing and how people perceive women in the racing industry.

Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont Italy on 26 March 1941. She was the youngest child of three; her father was a butcher, who gave Lella her first job as a delivery driver for the family's shop. At first, Lombardi’s father initially found her passion for racing hard to accept, but he embraced it once she finished runner-up in a 1968 race.

After a brief experience with karting as a child, Lombardi bought her first car in 1965, which she raced in the Formula Monza series. She moved on to Formula Three in 1968, and in 1970 won the Italian Formula 850 series. In 1974, Lombardi was signed to drive the Shellsport-Luxembourg Lola in Formula 5000 and finished fourth.

In 1974, Lombardi tried, unsuccessfully, to qualify for Formula One with a privately entered Brabham racing car supported by the Automobile Club d'Italia. The car was sponsored by Radio Luxembourg broadcasting on 208 meters mediumwave, which inspired the selection of 208 as Lombardi's Formula One racing number. That winter, she met an Italian nobleman, Count Vittorio Zanon, who sponsored her entrance into Formula One. In 1975, Lombardi was invited to join Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck on the March engineering team, racing the full season with Zanon's Lavazza Coffee Company’s sponsorship.

At the opening race of the campaign in South Africa, Lombardi became the first woman since Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958 to successfully qualify for a Grand Prix. 1975 would prove to be an eventful season for the March Team, as Lombardi scored half a Championship point in the Spanish Grand Prix. This was because the race only lasted 23 laps until Lombardi was forced to retire with a fuel system problem, while the race suffered a major tragedy when the rear wing on Rolf Stommelen's Embassy Hill broke, sending him into the barrier. While trying to avoid Stommelen's car as it bounced back and crossed the track, Carlos Pace crashed. Four spectators were killed by Stommelen's flying car. The race continued for another four laps, resulting in Lombardi’s sixth-place finish and, with the race being stopped before three-fifths of the scheduled race distance was reached, all points were halved. Lombardi also successfully performed at other races, including the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, where she finished seventh. At the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Lombardi had a one-off drive for Williams. However, she was prevented from starting the race due to an ignition problem.

In 1976, Lombardi was confirmed at March Engineering alongside Brambilla and Stuck. She finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, and subsequently, the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson. Then, Lombardi briefly moved to RAM Racing, her best result being 12th at the Austrian Grand Prix.

In 1974, Lombardi was the first female racing driver to qualify and compete at the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch. She raced a Lola-Chevrolet Grand Touring Prototype-class car and finished 14th. In the 1975 event, she was once again able to qualify and compete with a March-Ford car. She retired after 20 laps.