Maria Teresa de Filippis - motorsport's first female F1 Grand Prix driver - was born on this day in Naples, Italy in 1926. De Filippis was a keen horse rider in her teenage years before she switched to motorized horse power at the age of 22. Some impressive drives in the Italian Sportscar championship earned her a seat with the Maserati works team, allowing her to compete in various endurance racing events. In 1958, she made her F1 debut with a privately-entered Maserati at Monaco, but failed to qualify. However, a month later she was on the grid at Spa and crossed the checkered flag at the wheel of her 250F in tenth position. Although her career at the pinnacle of motorsport was limited...
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