Athletes: Maria-Teresa de Filippis

Maria-Teresa de Filippis (1926-2016) was an Italian race car driver. She was an official driver for Maserati and the first woman in Formula One. During her career, she qualified for five Grand Prix races, including three championships.  Since her time on the track, only five women have attempted to qualify for world championship grand prix races.

For Further Reading:

• Maria Teresa de Filippis
• Maria Teresa de Filippis: Even the great Fangio thought she drove too fast
• Women have a thin history in F1, but there's hope that's changing

This month we're celebrating the women who performed physical and mental feats in sports. They overcame societal barriers, personal struggles, and fierce competition to pursue their dreams of glory. We're talking about Athletes.

History classes can get a bad rap, and sometimes for good reason. When we were students, we couldn’t help wondering... where were all the ladies at? Why were so many incredible stories missing from the typical curriculum? Enter, Womanica. On this Wonder Media Network podcast we explore the lives of inspiring women in history you may not know about, but definitely should.

Every weekday, listeners explore the trials, tragedies, and triumphs of groundbreaking women throughout history who have dramatically shaped the world around us. In each 5 minute episode, we’ll dive into the story behind one woman listeners may or may not know–but definitely should. These diverse women from across space and time are grouped into easily accessible and engaging monthly themes like Educators, Villains, Indigenous Storytellers, Activists, and many more. Womanica is hosted by WMN co-founder and award-winning journalist Jenny Kaplan. The bite-sized episodes pack painstakingly researched content into fun, entertaining, and addictive daily adventures.

Womanica was created by Liz Kaplan and Jenny Kaplan, executive produced by Jenny Kaplan, and produced by Grace Lynch, Maddy Foley, Brittany Martinez, Edie Allard, Lindsey Kratochwill, Adesuwa Agbonile, Carmen Borca-Carrillo, Taylor Williamson, Sara Schleede, Paloma Moreno Jimenez, Luci Jones, Abbey Delk, Hannah Bottum, Lauren Willams, and Adrien Behn. Special thanks to Shira Atkins. Original theme music composed by Miles Moran.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I am Jenny Kaplan and
this is Womanica. This month, we're celebrating women who performed
physical and mental feats in sports. They overcame societal barriers,
personal struggles, and fierce competition to pursue their dreams of glory.
We're talking about athletes. There was once a girl who

(00:26):
lived in a sixteenth century palazzo in Naples, Italy. She
had a beautiful childhood, surrounded by art and culture. She
spent her days riding horses, skiing and playing tennis. But
she wanted to do something different, something dangerous. She wanted
to race cars. Let's talk about Maria Theresa de Philippies.

(00:51):
Maria Theresa de Philippies was born to a wealthy family
in Naples, Italy, in nineteen twenty six. Her two older
brothers planted the seat of racing in her head. As
a woman in the mid twentieth century, getting behind the
wheel and driving fast for sport was virtually unheard of,
But as a little sister, Maria felt she had something
to prove. When she was twenty one years old, she

(01:13):
entered her first competition. It was a local hill climb
and the entire course was about six miles long. Although
the activity was out of the ordinary for most young
aristocratic women, Maria's mother encouraged her go slowly but win,
she told her, and Maria almost did. In her first race,

(01:34):
she drove her Mini red Fiat up and around an
Italian hill and finished second in her class. Maria was hooked.
She continued to race, trying out faster cars along the way,
and she met a racing companion. His name was Luigi Musso,
and although they were fierce competitors, he and Maria fell

(01:54):
in love. Luigi helped Maria sharpen her driving skins, and
the two traveled around Europe, racing each other and placing vets.
But the romance burned bright and fast, and the two
fell out of love. Luigi would later die while racing
in the French Grand Prix, and his death, among others,
would weigh on Maria, but Maria kept racing, and in

(02:18):
nineteen fifty six her name was written into racing history.
Maria was competing in the Naples Grand Prix. The race
took place in Posilipo, a seaside district. Maria whipped around
the cliffs that overlooked the hidden coves and blue Ocean.
Seated in her signature car, the Maserati two fifty f

(02:38):
it was a site to behold, the small woman driving
full speed through Italian ruins. She finished second, a true
feat for anyone in that landscape. Maria's finish in the
Maserati gained the attention of the car company, which offered
her a position to represent the company in races. She
agreed and became one of the company's official race car drive.

(03:02):
Maria's partnership with Maserati allowed her to take on more
competitive races and participate in the male dominated world of
Formula One. It was during these whirl win years that
Maria faced what she considered her only instance of overt sexism.
When she showed up to enter the nineteen fifty eight
French Grand Prix, the driving director told her the only

(03:23):
helmet a woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser.
Apart from that, she said, she didn't encounter prejudice, just
surprise at her success. Maria would go on to enter
seven Grand Prix races between nineteen fifty eight and nineteen
fifty nine. She wasn't afraid of speed, and she certainly
wasn't afraid to compete at this new level. She later

(03:44):
said it was fantastic. I didn't think about the result
at all. Racing was even more dangerous in the nineteen
fifties than it is today, and cars had very few
safety precautions. Although she was making history as a woman
race car driver, the deaths around her began to pile up.
After the death of her former partner Luigi Muso, came

(04:06):
the deaths of her friends Peter Collins, Alfonso de Portago,
and Mike Hawthorne. When her closest mentor and teammate, Jean Bera,
went over the lip of a racetrack and was ejected
from his car, Maria had seen enough. She retired from
racing after meeting and marrying an Austrian textile chemist. They

(04:26):
had children and raised their family around Europe, eventually settling
in Italy. Maria stayed away from the track until nineteen
seventy eight, when she joined the International Club of Former
Grand Prix Drivers as a secretary. For Maria's eighty fifth birthday,
they made her its honorary president. Maria died on January eighth,

(04:49):
twenty sixteen. After her passing, the F one Drivers Club
said for those of us lucky enough to watch her race.
Nothing more need be said. All month, we're talking about athletes.
For more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at
Wamanica Podcast special thanks to Liz Kaplan, my favorite sister
and co creator. Talk to you tomorrow