Remembering the only woman driver in F1 to score a point, on this International Women's Day

F1 is infamous for being dominated by men, and we have seen only a handful of women in the sport in various roles. While many of us have only seen men driving the cars, on a rare occasion, one woman made a difference. On this International Women's Day, we celebrate the life of Lella Lombardi, the only woman to have scored a world championship point in the sport.

Nowadays, the sport has unfortunately garnered a reputation for being accessible only to men. Back in 1975, however, Maria Grazia 'Lella' Lombardi became the only woman to score a world championship point. She did so in dramatic fashion - in only her second-ever Grand Prix in Spain. The Italian driver competed in a March 751 car, which at the time was considered to be an untameable beast by many.

The Italian managed to score only half a point, however, as the race was red-flagged on lap 29 due to a horrific crash that saw Rolf Stommelen veering off track, killing five spectators.

Lella Lombardi was also the first female driver to have entered the annual Race of Champions, an event that puts drivers across various disciplines of motorsport against each other. The former F1 driver had a streak of bad luck in the competition, finishing 14th in 1974 and being forced to retire on lap 20 the following year.

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Lewis Hamilton urges for more women in F1 after W Series tie-up

The British world champion wants his sport to "do more" for women after tying up with popular women's racing championship W Series. The W Series is a free-to-enter championship launched in 2018 that hopes to eliminate the financial and social barriers that have stopped women from participating in motorsport throughout history.

Lewis Hamilton declared the series to be "very important," claiming that the series will help racing get rid of its male-dominated image. He said:

“If I’m really honest I don’t know enough about it, I’ve naturally grown up and come through other ranks. I think it’s great what they have already done. And I think it’s definitely very, very important that they are here on the global scale, on the scene. I think when we talk about diversity, people often think that we are talking about having more people of color. It’s not just that, it is having more women involved. At the moment is a male-dominated sport and that does need to change. The sport does need to do more, and that is a good step in the right direction.”

It is still uncertain when we will see another woman in F1. With active support from F1's biggest stars, however, we can hope for a positive change in the coming years which will see women around the world entering motorsport in greater numbers.