A certainly not normal life - Maria Teresa de Filippis
A not quite normal life came to an end. Maria Teresa de Filippis, who was born in Naples on November 11, 1926, died yesterday (January 9, 2016) at the age of 89.
The Italian was the first woman to start a Formula 1 race after the war on June 15, 1958, at the Belgian GP. She finished the race in tenth place in her Maserati 250F, which would have been enough for a world championship point according to today's points system. She had less luck in her two other starts at the Portuguese and Italian Grand Prix and retired early.
Just the thought of taking part in a race as a woman in the 1950s in a Maserati 250 F was crazy. Driving this car on a circuit like Spa-Francorchamps was certainly no walk in the park. These racing cars had powerful engines, but were heavy and physically demanding to drive, the track in Belgium was more dangerous than almost any other and it usually rained as well.
Mike Hawthorn in the Ferrari took pole position with a time of 3:57.1, which corresponded to an average speed of 214.39 km/h. Maria Teresa de Filippis qualified 19th and last with an average speed of 187.57 km/h and a time of 4:31.0, around 34 seconds behind the Englishman.
Now, after a serious illness, the life of the likeable Italian has been extinguished forever. Let's take a moment to enjoy what was probably her very last drive in the beautiful 250F on the Monza circuit, as recorded for promotional films by Maserati and UBS .
