She Drove an F1 Car at 79. #formula1 #f1history #hiddenhandsspeed | Rosemary Smith

Video Description from YouTube:

She Drove an F1 Car at 79 — The Team Behind Rosemary Smith’s Dream

DESCRIPTION
At seventy-nine, Rosemary Smith took the wheel of a Formula 1 car—but her story began decades earlier.

The Irish rally driver won the 1965 Tulip Rally alongside navigator Valerie Domleo in a Hillman Imp. Her career took her through demanding rallies and circuit racing, building the experience she would bring to an extraordinary new challenge.

In May 2017, Renault arranged for Rosemary to drive an F1 car at Circuit Paul Ricard in France. Jolyon Palmer offered guidance, her longtime friend and navigator Pauline Gullick provided encouragement, and the team helped prepare her for the single-seater.

This was a demonstration drive, not a Formula 1 Grand Prix appearance.

Rosemary passed away in December 2023, leaving a remarkable motorsport legacy.

She held the wheel. The hidden hands helped make the dream possible.

🏁 Hidden Hands Speed — The people behind the speed.

SOURCES & VISUAL CREDITS
• Renault — F1 preparation, engineering support and Jolyon Palmer’s guidance:
https://blog.renault.de/motorsport-79…

• Motorsport.ie — The 2017 F1 experience and Pauline Gullick’s support; Renault Sport photographs:
https://motorsport.ie/2017/07/13/rose…

• The Imp Site — Early racing history, the 1965 Tulip Rally and archive photographs:
https://imps4ever.info/racing/rallies…

• The Irish Times — Photographic retrospective covering her early career and later years:
https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/2023…

Photographic credits include Renault Sport, Frank Fennell, Mike McLaren/Getty, Nick Bradshaw and Tom Honan, alongside archive material presented by The Imp Site.

VISUAL CONTEXT
The photographs span different decades and events; they do not depict one continuous occasion. Dates and source credits appear on the individual visuals.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Third-party photographs remain the property of their respective copyright holders. Hidden Hands Speed claims ownership only of its original narration and editorial presentation.

The material is presented for historical commentary and storytelling. No ownership of third-party images is claimed, and they are not presented as copyright-free. Attribution does not itself grant permission or establish fair use.

#HiddenHandsSpeed #RosemarySmith #Formula1 #WomenInMotorsport #MotorsportHistory #HillmanImp #RenaultSport