This 79-Year-Old Lady Is The Oldest Person To Drive An 800bhp Formula 1 Car

Former rally driver Rosemary Smith became the oldest person to drive an F1 car by getting behind the wheel of an 800bhp Renault machine at Paul Ricard circuit

Car Throttle

12 Jul 2017

Rosemary Smith has led quite a life. A supremely quick rally driver back in the 1960s, she fought for years to be taken seriously by her male competitors, whom she often beat.

Her achievements include outright wins of the 1965 Tulip Rally and 1969 Cork 20 Rally, and the ladies’ prize at a huge number of events. Her rallying days are now behind her, but when Renault approached her to see if she wanted to drive a V8, 800bhp Formula One car to help celebrate the firm’s 40 year involvement in the sport, she didn’t hesitate to say yes.

“At my age, I should be sitting at home doing my knitting,” Smith jokes. Instead, she found herself at Paul Ricard circuit in France, becoming the oldest person to ever drive an F1 car, guided by 2014 GP2 champion and current Renault Sport driver Jolyon Palmer.

“You’ve got to go out there with this fire in your belly. You have to have passion,” Smith concludes. Hard to argue with that.

Disclosure: this post is sponsored by Renault Sport.

Comments

Put some respect on her name

Didn’t Eccelstone not want women in F1? I thought I heard or read something about that. If that was the case, this woman just gave the most permanent and largest middle finger to sexism ever!

Actually there were 5 women to enter a Grand Prix ever, only 2 have started a Grand Prix and the total points scored by Female F1 drivers is .5 points.

Renault back at it again whit their stunts

Lookout Joylon! Mrs. Smith is coming for your job!

That was awesome

And people think Kubica is going to be the next Renault Driver 😂

Never been more honored to share her last name.

Probably faster than Alonso in a Mclaren-Honda car

that’s how slow modern F1 is, your 79 year old granny can drive it.

Slow ….. lol a 2017 f1 car will destroy any old 2003-2004-2005 car comprehensively. And will destroy the next fastest motorsport series by 10+secs at most tracks