The world of motorsport has been dominated by men for an incredibly long time. However, there are plenty of high-profile, female drivers and engineers that have made an impact in the industry. Although it was more difficult for women to thrive in motorsport, there have been significant changes made to bridge the gap and make the industry more accessible than ever before.
Despite the challenges of the past, a few women managed to beat the odds and make a name for themselves in the world of motorsport. From the first woman to ever be allowed to race in a Formula 1 car down to female Team Principals and Engineers, here are 10 of the most important women in racing history.
10 Maria Teresa de Filippis
Born in November 1926, Maria Teresa de Filippis was an Italian racecar driver with a passion that saw her make it all the way to Formula 1. She began her racing career at the age of 22 and won her first race in a Fiat 500.
Maria fought her way to Formula 1, breaking the glass ceiling by becoming the very first female driver to ever take the grid. Having debuted in May 1958, her Formula 1 career was indeed short as she only started 5 Grand Prix and did not manage to score any points. Despite this, she managed to leave an impact on motorsport that would last forever.
9 Sarah Fisher
Sarah Fisher is a retired American, racecar driver with the greatest number of starts in the Indy500. Born in October 1980, Sarah took part in 81 IndyCar Series events, with a career-best finish at the Infiniti Grand Prix of Miami. This also broke the record and was the highest classification for any female driver at the time.
Fisher started racing early in karting before progressing quickly to sprint car racing. Her talent was quickly noticed as she was chosen to debut at the final race of the 1999 season. Fisher is still active in motorsport within her own team, Sarah Fisher Hartman Racing.
8 Danica Patrick
Danica Patrick was and is the only female to ever win an IndyCar Series race. Danica is by far the most successful American, open-wheel racing driver and has competed in a wide variety of motorsport divisions and competitions.
Danica began karting at the age of 10 and won her class in the World Karting Association Grand National Championships on three occasions. She was also named rookie of the year for both the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and the 2005 IndyCar Series.
7 Jamie Chadwick
Jamie Chadwick is a young, successful racing driver to definitely keep an eye on. This British racing car driver is still in her 20s and has already won the W Series championship twice. In addition to this, Jamie has been chosen to be one of Williams’ development drivers for its Formula 1 team.
Jamie was born in 1998 and grew up in the Isle of Man. She began karting at the age of 11 and worked her way up to win the 2013 Ginetta Junior Championship season. Jamie Chadwick has also won the MRF Challenge and the British GT Championship.
6 Susie Wolff
Susie Wolff is one of the most successful female race car drivers in history. While she did compete in DTM from 2006 to 2012, her popularity and success came afterward through her work as the CEO of Venturi Racing, a Formula E team.
Susie began karting at the age of eight and was named the British Woman Kart Racing Driver of the year in 1996. She progressed to Formula Renault, Formula 3, DTM, and even Formula 1 as a development driver for Williams before retiring.
5 Molly Taylor
Molly Taylor is an Australian rally car driver. Born in 1988, Taylor is the first and only woman to win the Australian Rally Championship. In addition to this, she also drives for JBXE in the Extreme E Championship, where she won three races and one championship.
Taylor started her career in Australia before advancing her career to Europe in the British Rally Championship. Here she was noticed by Pirelli and World Racing Championship officials as they invited her to be part of their young-driver program.
4 Michele Mouton
Mouton is a French rally car driver who drove for the Audi team in the World Rally Championships. During her successful career in rally car racing, Mouton managed to start 50 races to score 229 points. This included nine podiums and four wins.
Mouton was born in 1951 in Grasse, a small town in France. She began her career in racing at the age of 14 and turned her attention toward rally car racing in 1972. Throughout her career, Mouton raced for Fiat, Audi, and Peugeot.
3 Jutta Kleinschmidt
Born in 1962, Jutta Kleinschmidt is a German off-road racing driver most known for her numerous starts in the Paris Dakar Rally. Jutta managed to beat all the odds and be the first and only woman to ever win the race. In 2013, her achievements in motorsport were recognized as she was named an FIM Legend.
Having studied at university and worked for BMW, Jutta shifted to racing in 1994. She then became the first woman to win a stage of the Rally in 1997. The following year, she managed to make her way to the podium and eventually won the competition in 2001.
2 Leena Gade
While many of the other women on this list made a name for themselves in the car, Leena Garde did so as the lead race engineer in the FIA World Endurance Championship and IndyCar race series. In addition to this, she became the first female race engineer to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2011.
Gade worked for a variety of teams such as Audi Sport Team Joest and Bentley Motorsport. In December 2012, Gade was named the FIA World Endurance Championship ‘Man of the Year’ and was later named an ambassador for the FIA Commission for Women in Motorsport.
1 Lella Lombardi
Maria Lella Lombardi was born in 1941 and was the first and only woman to ever score points in Formula 1. Lombardi worked her way up to the pinnacle of racing and participated in 17 Formula 1 World Championship Grand Prix.
Lombardi started racing at an early age and moved up to Formula 3 in 1968. Lombardi then entered Formula 1 to write her name in the history books, as she scored half a point at the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.