Desiré Wilson
South African racing driver · South Africa · On the map · Athletes · Born 1953 · age 72
Desiré Wilson (née Randall), born 26 November 1953, is a former racing driver from South Africa and one of only five women to have competed in Formula One. Born in Brakpan, she entered one Formula One World Championship Grand Prix in 1980 with a non-works RAM Racing-prepared Williams FW07, but failed to qualify.
Desiré Wilson is read about 124 times a day, in 21 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 9 November 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 106 days, one point a day.
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, The biggest problem is there’s never really enough funding for a woman to complete all the steps, It’s opportunity, what team you’re in, the funding you have and so forth.
I never looked back in the race, It’s one of those things, it’s hard to explain … It happens once in a lifetime.
About this person
She also raced in the 1981 non-world championship South African Grand Prix in a one off deal with Tyrrell Racing. This race was not part of the 1981 World Championship due, in part, to the FISA-FOCA war. She qualified 16th and, after the car stalled during the start of the race, she moved up through the field in wet conditions; as conditions dried, she fell back and damaged the car when it touched a wall while she was letting the race leader through.
