Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix.
29 Facts About Lella Lombardi
2.
Lella Lombardi grew up in Italy and developed an interest in racing by driving a delivery van for her family.
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Lella Lombardi is the only woman to win points in Formula One, winning half a point in the Spanish Grand Prix.
4.
However, Lella Lombardi had an eventful driving career, aside from Formula One.
5.
Lella Lombardi was the first woman to qualify and compete in the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch and raced in sports cars.
6.
Lella Lombardi won the 6 Hours of Pergusa and the 6 Hours of Vallelunga.
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Lella Lombardi's experience has shaped the involvement of women in racing and how people perceive women in the racing industry.
8.
Lella Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, a small town in Piedmont in Italy.
9.
Lella Lombardi's father was a butcher, who gave Lella her first job as a delivery driver for the family's shop.
10.
At first, Lella Lombardi's father found her passion for racing hard to accept but embraced it once she finished runner-up in a 1968 race.
11.
Lella Lombardi was one of the first female racers in a same-sex relationship.
12.
Lella Lombardi died of breast cancer in Milan on 3 March 1992.
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Lella Lombardi was 50 years old and was buried in Frugarolo.
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Lella Lombardi is commemorated by a sculpture in her birthplace, Frugarolo.
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In 1974, Lella Lombardi was signed to drive the Shellsport-Luxembourg Lola in F5000 and finished fourth.
16.
In 1975, Lella 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.
17.
At the opening race of the campaign in South Africa, Lella Lombardi became the first woman, since Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958, to successfully qualify for a Grand Prix.
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However, this race only lasted 23 laps until Lella Lombardi was forced to retire with a fuel system problem.
19.
Lella Lombardi successfully performed at other races, including the German Grand Prix at the Nurburgring, where she finished seventh.
20.
At the United States Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, Lella Lombardi had a one-off drive for Williams.
21.
In 1976, Lella Lombardi was confirmed at March Engineering alongside Brambilla and Stuck.
22.
Lella Lombardi finished 14th at the Brazilian Grand Prix that year, and subsequently, the team decided to replace her with Ronnie Peterson.
23.
In 1974, Lella Lombardi was the first female racing driver to qualify and compete at the Race of Champions in Brands Hatch.
24.
Lella Lombardi competed four times at the 24 hours of Le Mans, where she finished 20th in 1976 in a Lancia Stratos Turbo.
25.
Lella Lombardi had raced in the Firecracker 400 NASCAR race at the Daytona International Speedway in 1977.
26.
Lella Lombardi's racing career has influenced the perceptions of subsequent generations of women in racing.
27.
Lella Lombardi is considered an F1 trailblazer, after which women increasingly joined Formula One in many capacities aside from driving.
28.
Lella Lombardi is used as one of the reference points for women in racing.
29.
Journalist Phil Pash reports that though Lella Lombardi viewed racing as a masculine sport, she succeeded regardless because of her 'competitive spirit.