2014 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - Second practice session

1	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:34.508		14
2	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:34.736	0.228	35
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:35.244	0.736	32
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:35.511	1.003	11
5	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:35.627	1.119	27
6	77	Valtteri Bottas	Williams-Mercedes	1:36.016	1.508	33
7	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:36.228	1.720	34
8	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:36.299	1.791	35
9	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.554	2.046	29
10	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	1:36.583	2.075	26
11	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:36.671	2.163	29
12	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault	1:36.778	2.270	31
13	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:36.951	2.443	35
14	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	1:37.064	2.556	35
15	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:37.097	2.589	33
16	11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	1:37.236	2.728	37
17	27	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India-Mercedes	1:37.449	2.941	27
18	99	Adrian Sutil	Sauber-Ferrari	1:37.520	3.012	25
19	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	1:38.658	4.150	11
20	10	Kamui Kobayashi	Caterham-Renault	1:39.068	4.560	31
21	4	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	1:39.224	4.716	28
22	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	1:39.762	5.254	21

2014 FORMULA 1 SANTANDER BRITISH GRAND PRIX - First practice session

1	6	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1:35.424		25
2	44	Lewis Hamilton	Mercedes	1:36.155	0.731	22
3	14	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1:36.263	0.839	23
4	3	Daniel Ricciardo	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:36.623	1.199	21
5	7	Kimi Räikkönen	Ferrari	1:36.703	1.279	23
6	1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull Racing-Renault	1:36.921	1.497	20
7	22	Jenson Button	McLaren-Mercedes	1:36.963	1.539	25
8	26	Daniil Kvyat	STR-Renault	1:37.175	1.751	29
9	25	Jean-Eric Vergne	STR-Renault	1:37.227	1.803	25
10	20	Kevin Magnussen	McLaren-Mercedes	1:37.231	1.807	30
11	11	Sergio Perez	Force India-Mercedes	1:37.720	2.296	22
12	8	Romain Grosjean	Lotus-Renault	1:37.910	2.486	21
13	21	Esteban Gutierrez	Sauber-Ferrari	1:38.056	2.632	18
14	34	Daniel Juncadella	Force India-Mercedes	1:38.083	2.659	23
15	36	Giedo van der Garde	Sauber-Ferrari	1:38.328	2.904	19
16	17	Jules Bianchi	Marussia-Ferrari	1:38.917	3.493	12
17	19	Felipe Massa	Williams-Mercedes	1:39.461	4.037	7
18	4	Max Chilton	Marussia-Ferrari	1:39.814	4.390	24
19	9	Marcus Ericsson	Caterham-Renault	1:40.597	5.173	19
20	46	Robin Frijns	Caterham-Renault	1:42.261	6.837	11
21	41	Susie Wolff	Williams-Mercedes	1:44.212	8.788	4
22	13	Pastor Maldonado	Lotus-Renault	No time		2

FIA Thursday press conference - Great Britain

Drivers - Daniil Kvyat (Toro Rosso), Max Chilton (Marussia), Valtteri Bottas (Williams), Jenson Button (McLaren), Felipe Massa (Williams), Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

Q: Lewis, if I could start with you: obviously you were on pole here last year, a former winner of the event, I see you’ve got the Union flag on the underside of the peak on your cap. Your feelings on racing at home and coming home?
Lewis Hamilton: It’s always a special weekend or week for us British drivers. Coming here, seeing the fans, already having been at Goodwood and seeing how many people were there and the support that’s coming into this weekend. It’s very exciting for us and the feeling of being at home is really a great feeling. And the support, as I said, for me and Jenson and the guys here, it’s unlike any other place we experience. I’m really excited to see everyone and I hope that we can put on a good show and that the weather stays good.

Q: You spoke after the race in Austria about damage limitation, particularly after what happened in qualifying. Clearly, I guess this weekend you want to start on the front foot and stay there. So I wonder what lessons you’ve taken away from the setbacks lately?
LH: There’s not really many lessons. There’s been these two races where we had a technical problem in Montreal and then in the last race I faced some difficulties on the driver side. Sometimes it goes well, sometimes it doesn’t, but you’re always going from strength to strength, so we’ve learned some things but nothing we can particularly point out.

Q: OK, thank you for that. Jenson coming to you. Similar question really to the first one to Lewis: the feelings on coming back to the British Grand Prix and racing in front of your home crowd. It’s a race you’ve not won, but you’ve always enjoyed being here.
Jenson Button: Yeah, it’s always very special coming home for this Grand Prix. I think for every driver Silverstone is a special race. It’s a great layout; always a full house, whether it’s sunny, hot, raining, windy. But it’s especially special for a British driver racing at home. Whether you’re doing well or not you get the support. It’s been very overwhelming actually the last few days since Goodwood leading into this home Grand Prix, I think for all of us. So I’m very much looking forward to driving on the circuit tomorrow and seeing the fans.

Q: It’s your fifth season with McLaren this year. How do you see things developing from here?
JB: We will see. For me, right now, it’s about doing the best job I can. The whole team, us as a team are working every day to do a better job. We’re not where we want to be, we’re not where McLaren is used to being, and we know that, so we’re working very hard. In terms of the future that’s something I can’t discuss right now.

Q: OK, we’ll move on to Felipe: congratulations, I believe it’s your 200th Grand Prix this weekend you will be celebrating. So your thoughts on that and also on his rich run of form at the moment for you and the Williams team?
Felipe Massa: Yeah, I think it’s a fantastic race to celebrate [at]. I think it’s an important achievement. It’s already a long time, when I started in 2002. It’s really a great feeling to have 200 races, in a great team, Williams-Martini home Grand Prix as well, at a great track, fantastic fans. So I hope we can have a very strong race, like we had in Austria, so I hope we carry on fighting [and we are] competitive. So I’m really happy and I’m really happy with the team I’m celebrating 200 Grands Prix [with] as well, so I hope we have many races in front. It’s a great placed as well. Everybody knows everything about Formula One, everything about racing cars here. Sometimes you just see pictures and you have no idea how fans have amazing pictures like that to sign, that are very close to us. It is a great feeling.

Q: You’re kind of unusual I guess to have got to 200 Grands Prix and it’s the first time you’ve come here racing for a British-based team - that doesn’t happen very often. Your thoughts on that, the Britishness of the team and what that represents to the country.
FM: Yeah it’s a great team. It’s a very important race for me; it's a very important race for Williams as well. For us, me and Valtteri, as well, for the championship. We are working very hard to improve and be better and better race by race and I think that’s what we are managing to do and it’s really a great feeling and I hope we have a good one.

Q: Valtteri, coming to you. As Felipe was saying obviously it’s a good run of form for the Williams team at the moment. You got your first podium a couple of weeks ago in Austria. Do you feel you can take on the Mercedes again this weekend?
Valtteri Bottas: Well, I think overall Mercedes has been performing really, really strongly. It's been difficult to keep up with them in most of the races - I think Austria was maybe a one-off, we will see. We know that we have been improving but you expect everyone else to do as well. It’s difficult to say. I think this season, we are going to see, the rest of the season, it’s going to vary quite a bit the performance between us and them, so we will see. We will do our best.

Q: After the race in Austria, you always have a debrief, all drivers do with the team, when you went through and looked at everything did you learn anything, were there any mistakes there or were you happy with the way it worked out.
VB: Well, we’re definitely happy with the result we got - third and fourth, a lot of points for the team, that’s the main thing. I think it’s like every race, always if you look into the fine details you can always something, maybe, you could have done better. But the main feeling is very positive. It’s really good to continue from here. There have been many opportunities we could have done a lot better in previous races and now we’ve done a solid job, so that’s good to see. We know we can do it, so it’s good to continue from here.

Q: Max, coming to you, home race for you as well, of course. What experience did you have last year when it was your first time and what are you looking forward to this weekend?
Max Chilton: I’m just obviously looking forward to another home Grand Prix. Last year was pretty special. Your first ever home Grand Prix is something you won’t ever forget. I’m probably a little bit biased, but I’d like to think that it is, if not the biggest grand prix of the year, then certainly one of them. It’s just awesome to have so many spectators, a lot of them are camping, and waving the Union Jacks. I remember last year, free practice one was typical English, with lot of rain, but they were still there doing the Mexican waves and having amazing spirit, so I just hope we can put on a good show for them this year.

Q: You’ve out-qualified your team-mate for three of the last four Grands Prix. What’s been making the difference for you lately?
MC: Just experience. Qualifying’s always been one my strong points but when I came to F1 I struggled initially. But with experience I’m working that out and I’m developing as a driver. There are techniques you can use as well. I find visualisation really helps. It’s a weird sport we’re in. You very rarely get to practice what we preach. Golfers, tennis players are out six hours a day; with us, yeah we have simulators but apart from that we’re not doing the sport that often. So the more you can practice, in any way possible, helps.

Q: Daniil, last three Grands Prix, you’ve qualified twice in the top 10, but you’ve had three straight retirements, so I guess the feeling at the moment is one of frustration, right.
Daniil Kvyat: Well, yes, it’s true. We had quite good speed, which we couldn’t consolidate into some good result unfortunately. But last three races we couldn't come to the end, but I think it’s been a good sign that we do have speed, we do have something to fight for and we’ll just keep on fighting.

Q: So overall then, half way through you first Grand Prix season, are you happy with the impression you’ve made in Formula One?
DK: Yeah, looking back on it, I think we’ve been achieving maximum from ourselves, we’ve been taking maximum out from our package. I was always learning some new things, it’s been always a good improvement through the season. It’s been good but it doesn’t feel like half a season anyway. We’ll see what the next half of the season will bring us.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FLOOR

Q: (Huansho Zhao - Formula One Express) A question to Jenson and Lewis. Murray Walker asked you two this question back in 2010 when you were still team-mates, that we had a colossal fortnight of sport, England’s out of the World Cup, Andy Murray’s out of Wimbledon, Britain is looking at you two, perhaps three of you, how do you feel about Sunday, are you afraid of history repeating itself. Would you like to give your 2014 answer to this question?
JB: I personally feel all the pressure is on Lewis!
LH: I think it’s the other way around!
JB: He’s in the best car, c’mon, make it happen! For us, for Max and I suppose a little bit for myself it’s going to be tricky to get on the top step of the podium and, yeah, it would be amazing to have a British victory. The crowd would go absolutely wild. So, I’d love to see that. For us, as I said, it will be difficult but Lewis has got a shot so hopefully that will be the case.

Q: Lewis, you feel a sense of responsibility?
LH: I was going to say exactly the same thing about Jenson, I think we should hand the baton over. No, at the end of the day we’re both, all of us, are going to do our utmost to try to represent and perform for the country. You never know how the weekend’s going to go, you never know how people have developed, improved - but of course, us as a leading team, hopefully we’ll have a good shot this weekend and I’ll do everything I can to bring at least a little bit of joy and add to the great success that some of the top athletes have.

Q: (Abhishek Takle - Midday) Questions to Felipe. Firstly, congratulations on 200 races but, if you look back to around 2012, you had I suppose a lowest point of your career in terms of competitiveness. Looking back at that time, with all the pressure and some people saying you shouldn’t be in Formula One, did you at that time think you would make it to 200 races?
FM: Well, for sure, yes. I was thinking that everything is possible. Things change very quickly in Formula One. All of us, we have good times and difficult time. You always need to pass through a difficult moment. You always learn, and definitely I learned. And I still believe I have many races in front and I still believe I can be competitive and I think when you don’t believe anymore, it’s the time to stop. But you need to feel, not what other people say. I really feel competitive and there’s still a lot more that I can do.

Q: (Ian Parkes - PA) Question for Jenson. Ron Dennis came out with some rather intriguing comments recently urging you to ‘try harder’. Just wonder what your thoughts are on that: whether you agree with him even, or whether you are in fact giving your all in what is a relatively uncompetitive car again this season.
JB: I think Ron’s practicing to be a motivational speaker maybe. I think when we’re in the position that we have been in for 18 months, it’s not easy. For anyone within the team. It’s very, very difficult. So, no, I think we all need to work harder as a team. I don’t think we should be pointing a finger at any individual within the team. I think we’ve got ourselves into this situation and we’ve got to fight our way out. I don’t do things in half-measures. I have the experience in Formula One to know that you need to give 100 percent and I always do every time I’m in the paddock, at the factory, on the phone to my engineers. Everything is 100 percent.

Q: (Luke Murphy - Formula Spy): Question for all drivers. There’s been some minor criticism of Pirelli lately that their tyre choices have been too conservative. I just wanted to know what your opinions were on that.
VB: I think the compound choices for the last two or three races haven’t been too bad. Obviously the compounds are a bit harder than last year. Those are the compounds and they choose the tyres we need to use in the race weekend and it’s our job to make the most out of them. So, that’s it.

Q: Max, anything to add?
MC: No, not really, I’ll just copy what Valtteri said. The tyres are pretty conservative, they haven’t been too bad.

Q: Felipe?
FM: Yeah, sometimes a little bit conservative. So, I like… I think in the last two races it was fine. When it’s one stop it’s a little bit boring, I prefer maybe two or three. Two is fine. I think, y’know, using the very hard tyres is not really great, I prefer it to be a little bit better than how it is.

Q: Lewis, I guess in a tight battle like yours, the strategy is an important part of the game - you want more options rather than less?
LH: erm… no, I was just thinking this isn’t a bad thing. Pirelli have done quite a good job this year. We haven’t had any tyre blow-outs, which is a real positive for us, it’s what we wanted. You can’t always get it perfect, so whether or not they’ve gone a little bit too far in that direction, we can decide perhaps at the end of the year. I’m sure they’ll alter it again for next year. Of course we always want more grip, so every time they get softer, that’s a good thing for us.

Q: Jenson, anything to add?
JB: Yeah, I think the last three races it’s been the right choice to have the supersoft and the soft. Barcelona felt a bit too hard but I mean it’s pretty difficult being limited to only four compounds throughout the season. Here it’s the hard and the medium but you need a bit of stability for the high-speed corners, so, if the temperature’s alright, it should be fine.

Q: Final thought Daniil?
DK: I have no problem with Pirelli, it’s all good for me.

Q: (Sarah Holt - CNN) Tomorrow we’re due to see the first female on track for 22 years when Susie Wolff takes part in first practice for Williams. That’s got to be a good thing for the sport, especially in terms of being an inspiration for future females who want to take part in motor racing. I wonder if Valtteri could comment first as Susie’s team mate, and also if we could hear from Lewis and Jenson as well?
VB: I think it’s great from Williams that they give the opportunity and she’s already been with Williams quite a bit doing development work in the simulator and did a test after Barcelona. I think it’s really nice to see her getting the opportunity to drive in the race weekend in FP1.

Q: Lewis, I guess you raced against quite a lot of girls lower down in karts but they’re no longer competing when you get to this level. Your thoughts on whether this will be inspirational?
LH: I didn’t race against many girls. Susie was one of the very few if not the only one that I raced against. I saw her in karting but she was always in the class above me and then we raced Formula Renault together. She was great. We shared a podium together a couple of times. I think she’s done remarkably well in her career. She’s very, very talented, so happy. It’s going to be really cool, I think, to see her in a Formula One car tomorrow.
JB: Yeah. First of all it’s good that it’s Silverstone as well. From what I’ve heard, she knows this circuit as well which is a positive thing. Jumping into a Formula One car, I’m sure she’ll feel a little bit of the pressure in front of the home crowd, but she’s been working with Williams for quite a while so I’m guessing she knows the ins and outs of the car and the team. She’s also driven already - hasn’t she? - in a test and went very well. So it will be good to see her on track tomorrow.

Q: (Mike Doodson - Auto Action) This is for Max: I was very interested in you talking about visualisation. I think other drivers have done the same in the past. I wonder what is the procedure you take to sit down quietly and particularly have you ever timed your visualised lap and how close did it come to the real one?
MC: Yeah, it’s something I’ve heard about a lot in the past. It’s all trial and error. You have to try things to work out if you like them or not. It’s just worked with me recently. I tend to start it the week before a Grand Prix and yeah, you just do it in some quiet space. As you know, it’s not deadly serious, you just kind of practise a lap and obviously the first few laps you’re miles out and then you just gradually get into it and you build from previous memories and you slowly get down to a time where everything is just there and ready to kind of be extracted into the car, so when you’re actually doing your first flying laps on a Friday, it’s kind of there ready to be used. It’s a simple technique which helps and - as I said earlier - our sport is very weird, we’re very rarely actually doing what we preach so the more practice we can get the better.

Q: (Andrea Cremonesi - La Gazzetta dello Sport) Lewis, how important is it for you to win here and turn the championship back to your momentum, because it seems - looking from the side - that until Monaco, your season was quite smooth and then it seems that you were a little bit surprised about how hard is the fight. Is this the wrong impression?
LH: I’m not surprised. I’ve known how close it’s been since the beginning of the year. Nico won the first race. As every race, it’s important to be out ahead. I had the advantage for a few races and Nico’s had that for at least the last couple. But now this is the British Grand Prix, I’m going to do everything that I can to be out in front and as I said, try and represent... when it’s your home Grand Prix, it’s one of the greatest experiences you can ever have as a sportsman and as a driver, so that’s what I’m working towards this weekend.

Q: (Alan Baldwin - Reuters) Three guys in the front, there were some comments this week from Bernie about Monza, suggesting that it might not be on the calendar much longer. I wonder if you could just comment, as the guys who had been there the most of the six here, as to whether we should take that seriously and how much of a loss for Formula One if it were to go?
FM: Yeah, I think we’re still carrying on racing in Monza. It’s a fantastic place, great fans, so for sure, if we are not racing in Monza any more it would not be good for Formula One. We need to go to places that people really love - Formula One racing, like Silverstone. If we lost Silverstone it would not be positive, it would be a negative for all of us so I hope we can keep going to Monza for many, many years.
JB: It’s an iconic racetrack, one of the old school tracks. There’s so much history. The fans absolutely love this sport, they will do anything for this sport and they’re not going to be there to support us, they’re there to support a certain team, but that’s great to see. It’s nice to see their passion, they’re very patriotic and the circuit’s fun to drive. It’s a very unique circuit, very different to any other circuit, very low-downforce circuit, always throws up a good race so it would be a shame not to see it on the calendar.
LH: Yeah, I agree with both what Felipe and Jenson said. I think it’s important not to forget that this sport would not exist if it wasn’t for the fans. Obviously there are certain business decisions people make but there’s tracks we’ve been to where there’s been no one in the grandstands and there’s a few, particularly, which are very, very special like Monza where you have a full… you know, the circuit’s just full of fans and it really does make the event. I think it’s important that we try and keep that in the sport.

(source: f1.com)

2014 British Grand Prix preview

Hey there F1 fans! It's going great with the blog and the Facebook page at the moment. F1-4-LIFE got some help from Sauber F1 Team. Fans asked us questions about F1 teams and Sauber gave us some really good answers to share with the Facebook readers. F1-4-LIFE has also reached 5000 likes which is much more than I would have imagined when I started this almost a year ago.

Sorry, that had nothing to do with the Grand Prix but I had to say something. Now let's get on with the preview!

Nino Farina in his Alfa Romeo. Silverstone 1950.

Silverstone is one of the most legendary F1 tracks in the calendar. Did you know that the whole F1 series started back in 1950 at Silverstone? That's why this circuit is so important!

In the first GP Giuseppe "Nino" Farina won from pole position also setting the fastest lap of the race (1'50.600). The current lap record is from last year by Mark Webber 1'33.401. The track has changed several times so it's hard to compare.

Last year Nico Rosberg won with Mercedes. This year Mercedes is the best team so who might stop him? Maybe Lewis Hamilton? Most likely! He started from pole position last year and I am pretty sure he will again this year. Only this time he will stay in front! He really wants to win in front of his home crowd which gives him more motivation.

On the other hand Lewis Hamilton usually breaks under pressure. He is able to keep cool but when he says to himself "I have to win!" he usually messes up. Even Murray Walker thinks Nico Rosberg might win the championship this year because Hamilton can't focus enough when it gets serious. I also believe that Nico Rosberg will be champion this year. (Some of you have asked me who will win this year and there's my answer)

I do hope that Hamilton wins this weekend because I want them to fight till the end for every single point. If this year gets boring like it was with Vettel then I must come up with something else to do. I can't watch another Vettel-season! I watched the Schumacher dominance also from 2000-2004 and that was boring as hell! 

I want more seasons like 2005-2008. Those were good seasons!

The best thing this weekend would be two Mercs crashing or something like that. I want something else already! Not another Mercedes 1-2. But sorry guys.. it will be another Mercedes 1-2. Trust me. MERCEDES 1ST AND 2ND!

Oh and make sure to watch the first practice session! Susie Wolff is driving F1 for the first time on TV (Live).

Here are my predictions:

Pole position: Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes

The race:

1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes
2. Nico Rosberg, Mercedes
3. Felipe Massa, Williams

Fastest lap: Nico Rosberg, Mercedes

Surprise: Esteban Gutierrez, Sauber. He will get his best result of the season!

Remember to post your own predictions to our F1-4-LIFE PREDICTORS LEAGUE.

The rules:

POINTS:  1st - 3  2nd - 5  3rd - 10 

HOW IT WORKS: the aim of the game is simply predict who comes where in the race (top3). A total of 18 points can be won on a race day. If you get winner and and 3rd place right but 2nd wrong you get 13 points same if you get 1 correct. eg. 2nd you get 5 points. If a driver wins the race and you said he would come 2nd or 3rd no points would be awarded. Same if he came in another position, and you predicted that wrong. A table will be posted up every race weekend. The point scoring system will change once the cars become more competitive. Everyone will say a merc 1,2 so it won't be close or fun.

HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR PREDICTIONS: send an email to f14lifeblog@gmail.com or message the Facebook page to submit your predictions. You have until lights out to make them. If you submit them when the race has started they won't count. So be quick! like the Mercedes. 

THE PRIZE: the winner of the league will win themselves a admin place on the F1 4 LIFE page along side JT, AE & MW. If you don't want to be an admin you are welcome to participate anyway. We may also come up with some other prize if it helps. 

THIS TIME YOU ALSO GET BONUS POINTS! PREDICT POLE POSITION AND FASTEST LAP CORRECTLY TO EARN 2 EXTRA POINTS! 

That's it for today and if you want to send me feedback then email me: f14lifeblog@gmail.com

Fernandes exits as Caterham confirm F1 team takeover

Caterham have confirmed that former team principal Tony Fernandes and his partners have sold the team to a consortium of Swiss and Middle Eastern investors, advised by former HRT and Midland team principal Colin Kolles.

Under the terms of the sale, the team will retain their name and will remain based at their current Leafield location ‘for the foreseeable future’.

Former F1 driver Christijan Albers, who made 46 Grands Prix starts between 2005 and 2007 and drove under Kolles at Midland in 2006, will take over the day-to-day running of the squad with immediate effect, replacing Cyril Abiteboul, who will leave the team ‘to pursue new challenges’.

"We are aware of the huge challenge ahead of us given the fight at the bottom end of the championship and our target now is to aim for tenth place in the 2014 championship,” said Albers, who will report directly to the board and will be assisted by Manfredi Ravetto. 

“We are very committed to the future of the team and we will ensure that the team has the necessary resources to develop and grow and achieve everything it is capable of.”

Abiteboul moves on after 18 months at the helm of Caterham, having taken over from Tony Fernandes as team principal at the end of 2012. The Renault-powered team currently lie 11th in the constructors’ standings without a point.

(source: f1.com)

Trailblazers - Formula One racing's fastest females

 

They may not be household names, but Maria-Teresa de Filippis, Lella Lombardi, Divina Galica, Desire Wilson and Giovanna Amati hold an important place in Formula One history as the only female drivers to have taken part in a world championship event.

But this exclusive club will grow by one this week when Williams development driver Susie Wolff takes part in FP1 at Silverstone. To mark the occasion, we remember the pioneering women in whose wheel tracks she'll be following…

Maria-Teresa de Filippis
As a youngster, the Naples-born De Filippis was more interested in horses than cars, and only began racing when she was 22 after her brothers bet that she wouldn't be able to drive fast. Having proved them wrong she quickly rose through the ranks to become the first woman to compete in a world championship Grand Prix. Her big break came in 1954 when, after finishing second in the Italian sportscar championship, she was hired by Maserati as a works driver. It wasn't until 1958 that De Filippis moved up to F1 racing, driving the same 250F machine with which her idol Juan Manual Fangio had won his fifth world title in 1957. She failed to qualify on her debut world championship appearance in Monaco (as did numerous others at the event, including a certain Bernie Ecclestone), but did make it onto the grid in Belgium where she finished a creditable tenth. Despite being warned by Fangio that she took too many risks behind the wheel, De Filippis qualified twice more that year, in Portugal and Italy, but hung up her helmet for good in 1959 following the death of team mate and friend Jean Behra in a sportscar race at AVUS.

Lella Lombardi
De Filippis may have been the first woman to drive in F1 competition, but fellow Italian Lella Lombardi was the first (and as yet only) woman to register on the F1 scoreboard. After impressing in Formula Three and, in particular, in Formula 5000, the 1975 season provided Lombardi with her first F1 race appearance (a year earlier she'd failed to qualify for the British Grand Prix), and she performed admirably for March. Scoring half a point by finishing sixth in the tragic, shortened Spanish Grand Prix was a huge achievement, as was her seventh place in Germany later that year. But unfortunately a lack of backing resulted in Lombardi losing her March drive in 1976 and, after a short-lived and fruitless stint with RAM, she faded from the F1 scene. Lombardi went on to race sportscars with some success, before sadly succumbing to cancer in 1992, aged 50.

Divina Galica
Divina Galica had an affinity for speed long before she stepped into a racing car. In 1964, at the age of 19, she made the first of three consecutive appearances for Great Britain at the Winter Olympics, competing in the not-for-the-fainthearted sport of downhill skiing. It was Galica's notoriety as an international skier that led to her being invited to take part in a celebrity saloon car race at Oulton Park in 1974, during which she demonstrated a genuine ability behind the wheel. Bitten by the racing bug, it wasn't too long before Galica had graduated to Formula Libre - a national championship for thoroughbred Grand Prix machinery and the like. To the surprise of many who doubted her ability to compete at such a level, Galica finished fourth in the 1964 championship driving a Surtees TS16 F1 car, but subsequent attempts to ride that wave of success into the Formula One world championship proved fruitless. She failed to qualify for the 1976 British Grand Prix and two years later - having switched to Hesketh machinery - made unsuccessful attempts to make the grid in Argentina and Brazil. Undeterred, Galica raced on and despite a return to skiing (during which time she made another Winter Olympic appearance and set a British record of 125mph on skis) she remains involved in motorsport to this day.

Desire Wilson
Unlike the other women on this list, South Africa-born Wilson has won a race in Formula One machinery, albeit in the short lived British Aurora F1 series and not in the world championship proper. That victory was achieved at Brands Hatch in 1980, a year in which she also took wins at Monza and Silverstone in the world sportscar championship and attracted the eye of John Macdonald, head of the RAM F1 team. Macdonald signed and entered Wilson for the 1980 British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch, but saddled with a year-old Williams FW07 (rather than the Wolf WR4 she'd won the Aurora series race with) she failed to qualify. When she did make it onto the F1 grid - driving a Tyrrell at her home Grand Prix in 1981, the on-going FISA-FOCA war meant that the race was classified as ‘non-championship'. That was a shame as Wilson performed well, moving up from 16th at the start to sixth before spinning out with gearbox issues. Sadly, despite impressing Ken Tyrrell, events would conspire to prevent Wilson from making any further F1 inroads. She went on to compete in various other series and still makes the odd appearance at historic meetings.

Giovanna Amati
Amati began racing in her youth, not long after being kidnapped by gangsters attempting to extort money from her wealthy parents. After attending a racing school she progressed slowly up the single-seater ladder with limited success, though 1986 did yield a sole win in Italian Formula Three. Then in 1991, after several years plugging away in F3000, Amati was handed an F1 test with Benetton. The following season, in what many claimed was a publicity stunt, the ailing Brabham team offered Amati a drive. However, after three disastrous attempts to qualify the admittedly bad BT60B, Amati was replaced by the up-and-coming Damon Hill. After her brief dalliance with F1 racing, Amati continued to compete in various categories and she remains the last woman to attempt to qualify for a world championship Grand Prix.

(source: f1.com)