The 1975 System 1 season is broadly remembered for the dominance of Niki Lauda and Ferrari, who gained 5 races collectively because the Austrian cruised to his first world championship title by a cushty margin. However that season a half-century in the past additionally included a notable achievement that has not been matched since — the primary world championship factors end scored by a lady.
That girl was Italian racer Lella Lombardi. The daughter of a butcher, Lombardi took the primary steps towards her then-unusual profession selection as a supply driver for her household’s enterprise. After catching the racing bug in karting, Lombardi made her manner into System 3 in 1968 and European F5000 by 1974 earlier than attempting to advance into F1 with a privately entered Brabham. She didn’t qualify, however her efforts gained her sponsorship and an opportunity to hitch March Engineering for the ’75 season. On the third race of the yr in South Africa, Lombardi turned the primary girl to qualify for a Grand Prix since Maria Teresa de Filippis in 1958, though she was an early retirement after a gas system failure in her March-Ford.
Subsequent up was Spanish Grand Prix, then held on the Montjuïc road circuit. The accident-strewn race was marred by tragedy, as particles from Rolf Stommelen’s crashing Hill resulted within the deaths of 1 spectator, a fireman and two journalists, and the race being shortened to 29 of the scheduled 75 laps, with solely half factors being awarded. Lombardi, who had moved up from her Twenty fourth-place beginning place into sixth within the chaotic race, due to this fact earned half some extent and her place within the historical past books, as F1 at the moment awarded factors to the highest six finishers.
Lella Lombardi and her March 751 Ford en path to sixth place within the Spanish GP at Montjuïc on April 27, 1975. Ercole Colombo/Studio Colombo/Getty Pictures
It will show Lombardi’s greatest profession F1 outcome, though she narrowly missed one other level within the German GP later that season, the place she completed seventh. Lombardi returned with March the next yr however misplaced her seat to Ronnie Peterson at mid-season and, after a quick stint with RAM Racing, the Italian opted to maneuver on to different types of motorsport. She even tried NASCAR in 1977, racing within the Firecracker 400 at Daytona, earlier than shifting her focus to sports activities automobiles. It was right here that Lombardi would obtain her best success, sharing victories in six-hour races at Pergusa and Vallelunga in 1979.
After retiring from driving, Lombardi fashioned the Lombardi Autosport race group, for which she served as group supervisor. She handed away in 1992 at age 50 after succumbing to breast most cancers, however her legacy stays an inspiration, with the all-female F1 Academy assist collection at System 1 races striving to enhance alternatives for girls to hitch Lombardi within the grand prix document ebook.
