Maria Teresa De Filippis, the first woman to contest an F1 Grand Prix, has passed away.

Though in her teenage years it was horses that thrilled, Naples born, Maria Teresa De Filippis, it was a different kind of horsepower with which she would later achieve fame.

Taunted by her brothers having announced she was turning to motorsport, aged 22, Maria responded by winning on her debut, a 10 km 'road race' between Salerno and Cava de' Tirreni.

Going on to participate in the Italian sports car championship - finishing second in the 1954 season - Maria came to the attention of the legendary Maserati which signed her as a works driver.

Contesting various forms of motorsport with the famous marque, including hill-climbs and endurance racing, she was now looking at Formula One.

Though Maserati withdrew from F1 at the end of 1957, having secured the title with Juan-Manual Fangio (his fifth), many examples of the fabulous 250F were now in the hands of privateers.

The first race she entered was the 1958 Monaco Grand Prix, however she failed to qualify - as did another young driver eager to make his mark on the sport, a certain Bernard Charles Ecclestone.

There were no such problems in Belgium where there was no qualifying cut-off. Qualifying last, Maria went on to finish tenth, albeit after nine rivals failed to finish.

Refused permission to take part in the French Grand Prix - Maria later claiming that the race director (the Charlie Whiting of the day) had said: "The only helmet a woman should wear is the one at the hairdresser's".

Retiring after just 6 laps in Portugal, whilst driving the Scuderia Centro Sud 250F, undaunted, Maria headed to the next race (Monza).

Completing 57 laps (of 70) before retiring with an engine issue, she was the fourteenth of twenty-one retirements and could effectively be classed as eighth.

There was one outing in 1959, with Porsche at the Monaco, where again she failed to qualify, albeit just 3s slower than the last car to make the cut.

Scheduled to contest the 1959 German Grand Prix at Avus, she was devastated by the death of fellow racer and friend Jean Behra in a sports car race supporting the event.

Behra's death, coupled with the loss of several other drivers that year, including her mentor Luigi Musso, Maria walked away from the sport

The following year she married, and it was not until 1979 that she returned to the sport, joining the Grand Prix Drivers Club, subsequently assuming the role of Vice-President (1997).

Whilst the statistics and record books suggest she was merely a footnote in the history of the sport, Maria Teresa De Filippis was a trailblazer, sadly, few - for various reasons - have followed her lead.

In 1975, Lella Lombardi finished 6th in the infamous Spanish Grand Prix, the Italian, after 66 seasons of formula One, still the only woman to score a world championship point.

A founding member of the Maserati Club, Maria - seen here with John Surtees - was now recognised for her achievements and was to become a regular at historic events.

Maria is survived by her husband Theo K. Huschek and daughter Carola.

Pitpass offers its sincere condolences.