26 March

Lella Lombardi - racing driver

Only woman to win points in Formula One

Maria Grazia “Lella” Lombardi, the only female driver to finish in a points position in a Formula One world championship motor race, was born on this day in 1941 in Frugarolo, near Alessandria in Piedmont.  She finished out of the points in 11 of the 12 world championship rounds which she started between 1974 and 1976 but finished sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix, a race marred by the tragic deaths of five spectators after the car being driven by the German driver Rolf Stommelen went out of control and somersaulted over a barrier into the crowd.  His was the eighth car to crash in the first 25 of the 75 laps and the race was halted four laps later when it became known there had been fatalities. At that moment, Lombardi’s March-Ford was in sixth position, albeit two laps behind race leader Jochen Mass.  Read more…

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Guccio Gucci – fashion designer

The man whose name inspired the interlocking G logo

The founder of the House of Gucci, Guccio Gucci, was born on this day in 1881 in Florence.  In the early 1900s Gucci worked as a lift boy at the Savoy Hotel in London, where he was inspired by the elegance of the wealthy people who stayed there and their smart luggage.  On his return to Florence he started making his own line of leather travel bags and accessories and in the 1920s he opened a small leather and equestrian shop in Via della Vigna Nuova.  Gucci later added handbags to his line and relocated to a bigger shop. He was fascinated with horses and his handbags featured clasps and fasteners resembling horse bits and stirrups. He gained a reputation for hiring the best craftsmen he could to work on his products.  In 1938 he expanded his business to Rome. When raw materials became scarce during the war he used materials such as hemp and linen to make his bags.  Read more…

Elio de Angelis - racing driver

The 'last gentleman racer' of Formula One

The Formula One motor racing driver Elio de Angelis was born on this day in 1958 in Rome.  His record of winning two Grands Prix from 108 career starts in F1 may not look impressive but he was regarded as a talented driver among his peers, holding down a place with Lotus for six consecutive seasons alongside such talents as Nigel Mansell and Ayrton Senna, both future world champions.  He had his best seasons in 1984 and 1985, which encompassed seven of his nine career podium finishes and in which he finished third and fifth respectively in the drivers' championship standings. Tragically, he was killed in testing the following year, having left Lotus for Brabham in frustration after perceiving that Senna was being given more favourable treatment.  De Angelis was seen by many in motor racing as "the last of the gentlemen racers."  Read more…

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Book of the Day: Lella Lombardi: The Fearless Woman Who Conquered Formula One, by Dora D Crabtree

In the male-dominated world of 1970s Formula One racing, where speeds exceeded 180 miles per hour and danger lurked at every corner, one woman refused to be intimidated. Lella Lombardi didn't just participate in the most exclusive motorsport on earth. She scored championship points, earned the respect of fellow drivers, and shattered every assumption about what women could achieve behind the wheel.  Born in a small Italian town where girls were expected to follow traditional paths, Lombardi discovered her passion for speed on the dusty roads of Piedmont. Against her family's wishes and society's expectations, she pursued racing with relentless determination. From her early days in Formula 850 to the gruelling endurance races at Le Mans, Lombardi proved her skill repeatedly. But Formula One represented the ultimate challenge, a circuit where only the fastest and bravest competed. Lella Lombardi: The Fearless Woman Who Conquered Formula One traces Lombardi's remarkable journey from her groundbreaking entry into Formula One in 1974 through her historic half-point finish at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. That achievement made her the only woman in history to score points in a Formula One World Championship race, a record that stands decades later. Beyond the statistics and lap times, this is a story about courage, resilience, and the price of being first.

Author Dora Crabtree drew on archive material in Britain, Italy and elsewhere, on interviews with Lella Lombardi and on first-hand accounts by friends, family and acquaintances of  the driver to paint as accurate a portrait as she could of one of the few female drivers to make an impact in the world of Formula One.

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