To join in the celebrations of International Women’s Day, we would like to pay tribute to the intrepid female drivers who first took part in a Formula 1 World Championship.

Five pioneers (María Teresa de Filippis, Lella Lombardi, Divina Galica, Desiré Wilson, and Giovana Amati), all women ahead of their time who broke down barriers and showed the way for future generations. 

Perhaps they did not achieve the success they would have wanted on the track but their greatest accomplishment was to tear down walls and challenge stereotypes in a male-dominated sport where prejudices abound. These are their triumphs:

De Filippis: The first woman to compete in F1  

The Italian Maria Teresa de Filippis is a true icon. She was the first woman to ever compete at the pinnacle of motor racing. Before making the leap to Formula One, De Filippis had already showcased her racing abilities at emblematic endurance events such as the Mille Miglia. 

In 1958, she made her Formula 1 debut at the Syracuse GP. Although it was a non-scoring race within the World Championship, she took a remarkable fifth place, the best result ever achieved by a woman in F1. 

Her first appearance at an official event took place in the 1958 Belgian GP. She classified nineteenth on the grid and finished tenth at Sunday’s race. During that same season, she took part in two more GPs in Portugal and Italy but had to retire early from both. 

Deeply affected by the death of her colleague Jean Marie Behra on board a Porche on August 1, 1959, De Filippis decided to retire from the sport. The Formula One pioneer passed away in 2016 at the age of 89. 

Lombardi: The first woman to score F1 points  

The also Italian Lella Lombardi took the baton from De Filippis and would go on to set a record for the best ever female performance of the specialty. She debuted at the 1975 South African GP, and at the following race, she became the only female driver to ever score points in Formula 1. 

It happened at the tragic 1975 Spanish GP. Lombardi obtained half a point after finishing in sixth place at the Montjuic Circuit. The race was suspended following the fatal accident of Rolf Stonmelen where five spectators lost their lives. She died in 1992 at the young age of 50 after battling a long illness. 

Divina Galica: A multifaceted driver   

British racer Divina Galica‘s first appearance in Formula 1 took place at the 1976 British GP. She didn’t qualify for the race on that occasion but she tried again two years later.

Her fleeting Formula One career took her to Argentina and Brazil in 1978, where she also was unable to compete at the wheel of a very lacking Hesketh 308B. 

Desiré Wilson: A South African woman in F1   

The South African race driver Desiré Wilson made her first incursion on board a single-seater at the Race of Champions in 1979, where she finished in ninth place.

The following year, and after a successful stint at the World Endurance Championship, she participated in her first Formula One Grand Prix in Great Britain in 1980.

Unfortunately, she didn’t classify for the race. After that disappointment, she finally raced at her first and last Formula 1 event at the South African GP in 1981, a non-scoring event of the World Championship. 

Giovanna Amati: The talented Roman 

Before arriving in Formula One in 1992, the talented Roman Giovanna Amati had already demonstrated her passion for the competition at lower racing categories such as Formula 3000.

Although registered to take part at the Grand Prix of South Africa, Mexico, and Brazil, she never qualified to enter any race, burdened as she was by a very deficient Brabham BT60B.