Speaker 1: As a young girl, Maria Theresa de Philipps enjoyed many
Speaker 1: sports like horse riding, skiing, and tennis. She came from
Speaker 1: a wealthy family and recreational pursuits were encouraged, but that
Speaker 1: didn't seem to sit well with her two older brothers,
Speaker 1: Antonio and Giuseppe. It was the late nineteen forties and
Speaker 1: Maria had taken an interest in motor racing, which had
Speaker 1: seen a post war boom. But her brothers laughed at her.
Speaker 1: They told her she'd be a slow driver, and even
Speaker 1: had a bet on just how slow she'd go in
Speaker 1: a race. That was enough inspiration for Maria. She was
Speaker 1: determined to prove them wrong. And prove them wrong, she would, hey,
Speaker 1: welcome to the pool room, where we celebrate the winners,
Speaker 1: losers and the weird stuff between. I'm Tony Armstrong. Maria
Speaker 1: Theresa de Philippus was born in Naples. She was the
Speaker 1: youngest of five kids, and believe it or not, her
Speaker 1: father was a count, so yeah, they came from money.
Speaker 1: Maria took part in all the rich people sports, presumably
Speaker 1: on some vast plot of land around the family sixteenth
Speaker 1: century palace. Seriously, they owned a palace anyway, Maria was
Speaker 1: very much drawn to the sports that were traditionally considered ladylack,
Speaker 1: until her pesky brothers scoffed at her interest in motora.
Speaker 1: She wasn't the type to take that sort of attitude
Speaker 1: lying down, so she set out to show them up.
Speaker 1: In nineteen forty eight, at twenty one years old, Maria
Speaker 1: entered her first race in a fee at five hundred,
Speaker 1: a local ten kilometer hill climb event, and she won.
Speaker 1: Apparently her mother had told her go slowly but win.
Speaker 1: She recorded the second fastest time in her class. No
Speaker 1: word on whether her brother's paid up on that bet.
Speaker 1: Maria was just getting started, though. She loved the speed
Speaker 1: of racing and showed no fear on the track. Her
Speaker 1: hero f one legend wile Manuel Fangio would later tell her,
Speaker 1: you go too fast, you take too many risks. But
Speaker 1: this attitude was exactly what helped Maria succeed. She progressed
Speaker 1: to racing sports cars and was getting noticed both on
Speaker 1: the track and off it. She struck up a racing
Speaker 1: romance with a rival driver, Luigi Russo. The pair would
Speaker 1: help each other with their racecraft and even wagered their
Speaker 1: own friendly bets on who would place higher. They got engaged,
Speaker 1: but never married and eventually split. Maria raced all over
Speaker 1: Italy in national championship events before her talents landed her
Speaker 1: a job with Maserati. Her brothers must have been spewing.
Speaker 1: In nineteen fifty eight, at thirty one years old, Maria
Speaker 1: made her debut in Formula one at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Speaker 1: She was the first woman ever to appear in an
Speaker 1: F one World Championship race. The grid was full of
Speaker 1: F one's biggest names of the day, like Sterling Moss,
Speaker 1: Jack Brabham and Mike Hawthorne. Her once fiance, Luigi Lussa,
Speaker 1: was on the track too, driving for Ferrari behind the
Speaker 1: wheel of a Maserati two point fifty f Maria placed
Speaker 1: nineteenth in qualifying, a tough start for any driver, but
Speaker 1: her skill was on show as she finished the race
Speaker 1: in tenth position. Luigi crashed out and retired. Tragically. He
Speaker 1: lost his life a few weeks later in another accident
Speaker 1: at the French Gorand Prix. From there, Maria appeared in
Speaker 1: a handful of other F one Championship events before retiring
Speaker 1: from racing altogether after the loss of Luigi and many
Speaker 1: other fellow drivers. During this dangerous period for the sport,
Speaker 1: she decided it was time to call it quits. She
Speaker 1: went on to marry an Austrian chemist and the couple
Speaker 1: started a family. Although her F one career was short lived,
Speaker 1: she blazed a trail for women in the sport and
Speaker 1: walked away from it with a full life ahead of her.
Speaker 1: After racing, Maria was really seen at the track. She
Speaker 1: wasn't too fond of how money and glamour had changed
Speaker 1: the sport, but in nineteen seventy nine she joined the
Speaker 1: International Club for Former F One Drivers, alongside many championship grades.
Speaker 1: She died in twenty sixteen, aged eighty nine. Although women
Speaker 1: are still working their way into the male dominated world
Speaker 1: of Formula One, they only have to look at Maria's
Speaker 1: incredible story for all the inspiration they need. Thanks for
Speaker 1: joining me in the poolroom. That's it for this episode,
Speaker 1: but I'll catch you in the next one. I'm Tony Armstrong.
Speaker 1: Have a good one.