Women at the Wheel - Part 5: The Women Who Capture Motorsport

In motor racing, eras change profoundly: while in the pioneering years, women attending races were part of the curiosity that the new sport had sparked, in post-war Formula 1, changes came about through the evolution of the paddock and the role of its visitors. Among these, especially in an era when the risks were high and tragedies, unfortunately, were not uncommon, the partners and wives of the drivers formed a community that united solidarity and roles. Among these, when computers did not exist, the main one was the recording of lap times and the creation of the famous lap chart, i.e. the position in the standings of each driver in each lap. Impossible? Apparently yes, but in reality no. Perched on high chairs mounted on the balustrade of the wall that closed off part of the access to the pits, with split stopwatches, clipboards and sheets protected from the wind and ever-possible rain, they recorded everything with maximum concentration. Helen Stewart, wife of the famous Scottish three-time World Champion Jackie, and Donatella de Adamich, who, with absolute coolness, guaranteed a perfect lap chart, remained famous for their ability to record every single piece of data. She managed to remain cool even on the day when, at Silverstone, at the end of the first lap, Jody Scheckter triggered a spectacular multiple accident. Her husband Andrea remained trapped, injured and bleeding, for forty minutes in his Brabham BT42, which had to be cut open to free him. Donatella never moved from her seat, frozen but aware that she must not add tension to such a delicate situation.

Today, Formula 1 is very different and times are measured to the thousandth of a second and available to everyone, but there are other women who continue their work in the paddock and on the track: the photographers who follow the Circus. In truth, even in this microcosm, things have changed: today, photographers, with their sophisticated digital cameras, have clearly defined areas dedicated to them. Once upon a time, they could go wherever they wanted. It seems unbelievable, but that's how it was: just think that in Monaco, during the Grand Prix, photographers walked along the pavements on the side of the track. And there were never any accidents! They certainly had their own special saint: what's more, they took precautions, like the beautiful Italian Gabriela Noris, also famous for her portraits, who took photos with both eyes open, “with one eye on the lens to frame the shot, and the other to see what was happening around me”. This proved invaluable at Hockenheim when, while photographing from a distance with a long telephoto lens, a single-seater car crashed badly. She saw it with her open eye and leapt like a cat, remaining unharmed, while her bag of lenses, which she had placed at her feet, was destroyed!