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Maria Teresa de Filippis

Actuarius recounts the extraordinary tale of the first woman ever to make the start line of a Formula 1 race

he Formula 1 championship was first

Tcontested in 1950, just five years after the end of the Second World War, and at a time when the repercussions of global conflict were still a part of everyday life. It is perhaps a sign of the prevalent optimism for the future, rather than dwelling on the recent past that, instead of being a matter of surprise or resentment, it is merely a matter of record that the inaugural champion was the Italian Giuseppe Farina aboard an Alfa Romeo. The 1950s was a decade where a new social enlightenment walked confidently into the future, hand in hand with the inherent promise brought by technological advance. “In young Maria’s case it was the taunts from her brothers regarding how fast she could drive that pushed her into entering the 1948 Salerno-Cava de Tirreni hillclimb, in a Fiat 500. The resulting win would not only silence her siblings but also ignite her interest in motor sport”

Maria Teresa de Filippis with Stirling Moss at SIlverstone in 1959

As is the way with these things, the reality is far more complex. There were also grimy backstreets with equally grimy children playing on bomb sites, while the promise of clean limitless energy cowered under the persistent cloud of potential nuclear conflict. Most of Europe lay in ruins, and women who had enjoyed new freedoms and independence had to relinquish their jobs to returning servicemen. Formula 1 offered the same restrictions: no women raced initially, but the first female racer would compete only eight years later and, up to the point of writing, a mere five women have entered Formula 1 races. Of these, only two have progressed to the start grid.

The pioneer, who would make history by taking to the track in a championship race in 1958, was Maria Teresa de Filippis. Born in 1926 in Naples, Maria was the daughter of an Italian Count and Spanish mother. In a similar manner to Stirling and Pat Moss, a keen interest in riding horses would evolve into a career racing cars. In young Maria’s case it was the taunts from her brothers regarding how fast she could drive that pushed her into entering the 1948 Salerno-Cava de Tirreni hillclimb, just south of Naples, in a Fiat 500. The resulting win would not only silence her siblings but also ignite her interest in motor sport.

More successes followed as she learned her sport, gradually moving up the categories in the Italian sports car series. She competed in a number

Maria Teresa de Filippis in the late 1950s

“Maria is on record as having said that she only experienced discrimination once in her career when, in what remains a shocking example of how bad things could be, the director for the French Grand Prix barred her entry with the comment “The only helmet a beautiful woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser”

of the top tier events, such as the Mille Miglia, and formed a notable friendship with Nuvolari (still regarded by many as the greatest racing driver ever) when he protested against her disqualification in the 1950 Giro di Scillia due to a technical infringement. Unsurprisingly, her mounts tended to be home-grown and eventually she was to be found competing at the wheel of an 1100 OSCA. It was at this time that she met fellow racing driver Luigi Musso, who was also destined for a career in Formula 1, and they fell in love. They would journey to races together and Musso would coach her with her driving. But despite being engaged at one point, they never married and were separated by the time both arrived at the top tier.

Taking second place in the Italian Sportscar Championship was testimony to how fast Maria was, but she was also brave. During her rise through the ranks she broke bones and had to be cut from cars after accidents, yet this diminished neither her speed nor commitment, and it is unsurprising that she came to the attention of the big teams. Enzo Ferrari was rejected, Maria not liking his domineering management style, but Maserati was a different proposition. 1955 saw her signed to race for them and, in 1957, she had her first experience at the wheel of a works 250F, possibly the most iconic and

De Filippis in her Maserati 250F at the Italian Grand Prix in 1958

certainly one of the most successful F1 cars of the front-engined era (see box, right).

Fangio, yet another perennial favourite for ‘greatest ever’, was the lead driver and reigning champion. Maria would later describe him as a ‘father figure’ as he offered advice and helped to develop her skills. Fangio once told her ‘You race too hard’, a clear indication that to make it at the top a racer needs more than raw speed – she also needs control and discipline. In fact, very few are successful straight away in Formula 1, as the skill sets gained in lower formulae need to be refined and honed to the point of perfection. So it was with Maria: a strong result at the non-championship Syracuse Grand Prix with a privately entered 250F was followed by failing to qualify at Monaco. Still, she was not to be denied her place in history, and at Spa she did manage to qualify, becoming the first woman to take the start of a Formula 1 Grand Prix, finishing in 10th place.

In 1959 she joined her friend Jean Behra at his Behra-Porsche team, but in the relatively short championships compared to today would only enter five F1 races in total, qualifying to start in just three of them. Maria walked away from the sport at the 1959 German Grand Prix. Musso had died during the previous season in France, just one of her friends to be lost on the racetrack, but when Behra fatally crashed at Avus, it was the final straw in an era where death was seen merely as a potential consequence of competing.

Maria is on record as having said that she only experienced discrimination once in her career when, in what remains a shocking example of how bad things could be, the director for the French Grand Prix barred her entry with the comment “The only helmet a beautiful woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser.” The media were always looking for the ‘woman’s viewpoint’ rather than simply treating her as a successful driver, but her fellow competitors at least recognised and respected her ability. Maria would marry in 1961, raise a family and only come back to the sport when she took up the post of secretary in the Club Internationale des Anciens Pilotes, later rising to become its vice president. She died in 2016 at the age of 89. Maria Teresa de Fillipis was a talented and determined racer whose legacy is only just starting to be built upon, with the advent of the ‘W Series’ championship. She was a true trailblazer who deserves to be better known. n

Maria Teresa de Filippis 11th November 1926–8th January 2016

The Maserati 250F

If you look back through the history of Formula 1, you will find distinct eras of car design. Whether defined by the introduction of game changing technology, such as Lotus with ground effects, or regulation change as with the reintroduction of turbo chargers in 2014, each has distinct aesthetics and each its legion of fans. The first of these was the ‘front engined era’, picking up where pre-war racing had left off. Despite the success of the Auto-Union Grand Prix cars, the standard configuration until 1939 and into the postwar years had remained with the engine up front driving the rear wheels and with the pilot somewhere in between.

The Maserati 250F is arguably the most iconic of these front-engined cars. Born in 1954 of a stable with an impeccable pedigree, it was the work of Colombo, Colotti and Fantuzzi. They mixed Italian flair with an almost Germanic single-mindedness to produce a powerful car with sophisticated and exploitable handling. However, its appeal extends far beyond mere performance. While aerodynamics was a fast developing science at the time, there was still room for the divine touch of the artisan. The proportions of the 250F may be sublime, but this was beauty born from function. That long tail visually balancing the streamlined snout contains the fuel tank, which gets a lot of weight over the rear wheels for that all important sprint off the start line. Seen from the front, the oval cross section climbing away to the windscreen is lithe and efficient, the side view presenting a taught, naturally developing compound arc from extremity to extremity, the muscular and low-set rear purposely accentuated by rivets.

As this was intended to be a customer car, there were 28 built, all with the variety one would expect of a hand crafted racer. Three general styles developed during production with, for some, the snub-nosed early cars being a little too blunt and fussy. Equally the later Piccolinos, shrunk in an attempt to keep the car competitive, possessed too little presence. Most 250Fs, though, have an elegance that approaches perfection, with the unadorned oval intake at the front, angled slightly forward, bringing a hint of aggression to balance the overall delicacy.

Most 250Fs are powered by the twin cam 2.5 litre straight six engine, with the later more exotic V12 never quite delivering on its promise. Fed by triple twin choke Webbers and exhaling via the ultimately efficient straight run open exhaust, the sound is positively intoxicating. Warming the engine by blipping the throttle delivers a series of hoarse barks, hard acceleration unleashes a howl that tears the air. It would be a shame if all this failed to deliver, but the 250F took eight victories, including Fangio’s legendary win at the Nurburgring, eight pole positions and numerous podiums between 1954 and 1960. It also took Fangio to two of his world championships and Stirling Moss to 2nd in the 1956 championship. Its front line career would be brought to an end by a change of rules and the rear engine revolution led by Cooper. Towards the end it was outclassed, but six years is a very long time in F1 and the Maserati 250F remains a favourite in historic racing today.