Women at the Wheel - Part 4: Covered and Open Wheels

To understand how much the world has changed, in 1958, when the Director of the Posillipo Formula 1 Grand Prix, meeting the drivers preparing for practice, came across a graceful, petite young woman sitting in a Formula 1 Maserati, wearing a helmet and driving gloves, he said to her, without embarrassment, "What are you doing here? Your place is in the kitchen!" She remained impassive and demonstrated, behind the wheel, that she deservedly belonged there, even though the large wooden steering wheels of the time and the lack of power steering weren't exactly designed for a woman's arms. Maria Teresa De Filippis quickly became well-known and appreciated, both in single-seaters and in the magnificent Maserati Sport in jump and endurance races like the Targa Florio. Her career, unfortunately, ended abruptly: the famous driver Jean Behra had hired her for his team for the 1959 season, where she made her debut at the Monaco GP, unsuccessfully. She was unable to compete in the next race; Behra died in a race at the Avus circuit, and she, out of grief, retired from racing. Maserati made her its ambassador, beloved and esteemed.

Considering what is said about women in racing, one must reflect on reality: why are there so few of them? Simply because a driver must start very early in karting and training races, something that is natural for males, often supported by enthusiastic fathers, much less so for females raised to a life where risky sports, at least once, seemed unsuitable. Despite this, despite the prejudices, there have been many champions: consider Michèle Mouton, who in the 1980s narrowly finished second in the World Rally Championship after winning several rounds of the championship with Audi, including the legendary Monte Carlo Rally. Her record at the legendary Pikes Peak hill climb, where she set the all-time record, remains in history. The major road races have attracted many women. One famous woman, Moss, was also famous for her name, as well as her talent: Stirling's sister Pat, won the Liège-Rome-Liège race in an Austin Healey and was very competitive, driving a SAAB, in the International Rally Championship in the 1960s.