Gabriella Mondadori

Gabriella Mondadori (b. 25th October 1953 in Rieti, Italy) is a retired Italian racing driver.

Early life

Gabriella was the only child of a plumber and a typist, and grew up in a very modest blue-collar home. From an early age she showed a rebellious attitude towards her parents, and refused to conform to the role of a "traditional girl" which her parents hoped for. Instead, she was interested in cars and bikes and as soon as she was old enough to work, she started saving up for a Vespa scooter. Unfortunately, only a few weeks after finally acquiring a second-hand one at the age of 16, she collided with a delivery truck. During her stay in the hospital she briefly considered giving up and starting to study to become a typist or secretary as her parents wished her to do. But then she came across the latest issue of Autosprint and was instantly hooked on motorsport. Once out from the hospital, she caused quite the stir by applying for an internship at a local garage. Knowing she'd have to work twice as much to prove her worth as compared to her male colleagues, she spent every waking hour either reading about cars and motorsport, or taking apart and assembling engines. By 1972 she not only was a fully-fledged mechanic, but had also save enough money to buy a kart and start racing on the few off weekends she had.

Racing career

At the start of 1973, she was able to attract enough sponsorship so she could quit her day job and become a full-time racing driver. She finished 10th in the national karting championship in that year, and 3rd in 1974. In 1975 she moved on to Formula Ford, finishing 5th in the national championship. Knowing that she'd need to progress quickly through the ranks to have a realistic chance of driving in F1 some day, she moved on to the Italian F3 championship in 1976. At first it seemed that she was progressing too fast as she struggled early in the season, but recovered to an eventual 11th place finish in the championship. In 1977 she was quick from the start, but a late-season injury meant she couldn't challenge for the title and had to settle for 4th in the standings.

Dywa GP

The next step for her would've logically been European Formula Two, but she lacked the funding for it. However, early in 1978 she was contacted by Latin Auto Technology Enterprises to drive one of their cars in the new Dywa Grand Prix Series. Surprised to see that they required less sponsorship despite the cars supposedly being F1-level, she jumped on the chance knowing it's her best chance to hopefully impress a F1 team to sign her.

After a string of retirements in the very unreliable car, she managed to finish 2nd and take the fastest lap in Syracuse. Three rounds later, she would take her inaugural win at Castle Combe, and clinch the title with another win at the season finale in Monza.

Formula One

Having spent 1979 as a replacement driver in a wide variety of series, Mondadori got her first Formula One chance when Marc Surer was banned from the 1980 Belgian GP for erratic driving at the previous race in Spain. After making it through pre-qualifying she was the last driver to go through from the main qualifying session, but her race ended quickly after a gearbox failure.

Personal life

In 1986 Mondadori met a motorsport journalist she immediately fell in love with, and married him in a private ceremony in 1987 while also announcing her retirement from motorsport at the same time. They have two children.

Results

Dywa Grand Prix Series

Year	Entrant	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	Points	DC
1978	Latin Auto Technology Enterprises	ENN 10	IMO 15	ROU 18	NOR 17	SYR 2	MUG 19	PAU 20	CAS 1	CHA 14	MNZ 1	26	1st

Formula One

Year	Entrant	Chassis	Engine	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Points	WDC
1980	ATS Kauhsen Racing Team	ATS WK2B	Ford Cosworth DFV 3.0 V8	ARG	BRA	USW	ESP	BEL Ret	MON	MEX	SMR	FRA	GBR	GER	AUT	ITA	CAN	CPL	DUB	0*	NC*

* Season in progress