The first female F1 (Formula One) driver Maria Teresa de Filippis passed away on 8 January 2016 in Italy. She was 89.
She is remembered as a first female pioneer in motor racing, a sport mainly dominated by men after she had participated in the five World Championship Grand Prix for the Maserati team in 1958.

About Maria Teresa de Filippis

• She was born on 11 November 1926 in Naples, Italy.
• She had stated her racing career at the age of 22 and had won first race on a 10 km drive between Salerno and Cava de’ Tirreni by driving a Fiat 500.
• She was given the opportunity to represent the Maserati team in Monaco Grand Prix of Formula one in 1958.
• She was also a founding member of the Maserati Club and later on she become its President.