Lella Lombardi

Italian Formula 1 racing driver who became the first and only woman to score World Championship points, achieving this historic feat at the 1975 Austrian Grand

Maria Grazia Lombardi was born in Frugarolo, Italy in 1941 and became the only woman in history to score points in an FIA Formula 1 World Championship race — earning half a point at the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix at the Österreichring when the race was stopped before the halfway distance, her 6th place worth half the usual score. She made 17 Formula 1 World Championship starts between 1974 and 1976, driving for Arturo Merzario (1974), Williams (1975), March (1975–1976), Brabham and RAM Racing (1976). She never scored a full championship point but her half point at the 1975 Austrian Grand Prix remains the only World Championship points scored by a female driver in Formula 1 history. Before Formula 1 she competed extensively in touring car and sportscar racing across Europe, establishing herself as a serious professional competitor. She was born into a working-class Italian family and funded much of her motorsport career herself — an era when female competitors faced far more institutional resistance than modern drivers. She died of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in March 1992 aged 50. She remains a pioneering figure in women's motorsport.

Determined and skilled driver who competed across multiple racing categories

Pioneering female racing driver who broke barriers in Formula 1 and motorsport

• Only woman to score F1 World Championship points (Austrian GP 1975)
• 17 F1 race starts 1974–1976
• Competed across touring car and sportscar racing
• Italian racing pioneer
• Paved way for women in motorsport