Rosemary Smith R.I.P.

[Martin Harran]

Irish rally driver Rosemary Smith passed away this week. Although she
was famous as a rally driver, she made F1 history back in 2017 when at
the age of 79 she fulfilled her life's dream of driving an F1 car,
becoming the oldest person to ever drive one.

Rosemary learned to drive at 11 years of age and had a fascinating
career as a rally driver, becoming synonymous with the Hillman Imp
after she won the Dutch Tulip Rally driving one. Her career included
many hair-raising escapades such as driving a car for 53 miles in
reverse over the Khyber Pass when it couldn't be driven forward!

http://www.wheelsforwomen.ie/index.php/ten-things-to-know-about-the-iconic-rosemary-smith/

[Darryl Johnson]

I remember seeing her drive the F1 car. It must have been on one of the
race lead-in shows. That would have been a few years back. Although I
can recall no details about which team had made the offer to her, or
where it was filmed, I do remember her enthusiasm. Also, her quickly
catching on to how an F1 car drives: I believe she turned in a quite
creditable lap time.

[Martin Harran]

It was a Renault, celebrating 40 years in F1 at Circuit Paul Ricard.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8e-zk-lAKDc