Lella Lombardi

Maria Grazia "Lella" Lombardi (26 March 1941 - 3 March 1992) was an Italian racing driver who participated in 17 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix from 1974 to 1976, becoming the second woman to qualify for Formula One after Maria Teresa de Filippis and the only woman in Formula One history to score a World Championship point—half a point earned at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix. Born in Frugarolo, Piedmont, Lombardi was the youngest of three children of a butcher who gave her first job delivering for the family shop. After karting as a child, she bought her first racing car in 1965 for Formula Monza, progressing to Formula Three in 1968 and winning the 1970 Italian Formula 850 series. In 1974, she drove the Shellsport-Luxembourg Lola in Formula 5000, finishing fourth and catching Formula One attention.

She made her Formula One debut at the 1974 British Grand Prix for Brabham, becoming the first woman to qualify for a Grand Prix since de Filippis 17 years earlier. Her historic half-point came at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuïc: she finished sixth for March, but because the race was stopped early after Rolf Stommelen's fatal crash into spectators before three-fifths distance was completed, all points were halved under regulations. This gave Lombardi 0.5 points—the only championship point ever scored by a female driver in Formula One's 75-year history.

For 1976, March retained Lombardi alongside Vittorio Brambilla and Hans-Joachim Stuck. She finished 14th at Brazil but was subsequently replaced by Ronnie Peterson as March prioritized a proven race winner. Beyond Formula One, Lombardi raced in the 1977 Firecracker 400 NASCAR race at Daytona alongside Janet Guthrie and Christine Beckers, finishing 31st. In sports car racing, she won the 1979 6 Hours of Pergusa, 1979 6 Hours of Vallelunga, and 1981 6 Hours of Mugello, while finishing second in class at the 1976 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Lombardi retired from racing in 1988 and founded Lombardi Autosport team in 1989. She died of breast cancer on March 3, 1992, at age 50 in Milan. Lombardi and de Filippis remain the only two women to have started World Championship Grand Prix races, with Lombardi the only one to score points. Her legacy as Formula One's sole female point-scorer endures as motorsport continues efforts to increase female participation at the highest levels.