Maria Teresa de Filippis: F1's first female Grand Prix driver

Maria Teresa de Filippis, motorsport's first female Formula 1 Grand Prix driver, was born in Naples, Italy, in 1926. After riding horses as a teenager, she turned to motor racing at 22, earning a seat with the Maserati works team after strong drives in the Italian Sportscar championship.

She made her F1 debut with a privately entered Maserati at Monaco in 1958 but failed to qualify. A month later, at Spa, she finished tenth at the wheel of her 250F. Although her Grand Prix career was limited to three races, she became a pioneer as the first woman to race in F1.

De Filippis is said to have retired in 1959, at the age of 33, after the death of her friend Jean Behra in a support race at Avus. She remained the only woman to compete in Grand Prix racing until Lella Lombardi started the 1975 South African Grand Prix.