Maria Parker

Maria Parker, 1971

York, England

**Maria Julia Parker** was a British racing driver, who mainly competed in Formula One.

## Early Years

Parker was born in York, England to parents Amelia and William Parker. She started competing in karts at the age of 8, and quickly rose through the ranks up to European Karting before switching to cars. Her father was an instrumental part in her early career, as he participated the Worlds Sportscar Championship from 1953 onward.

## Racing Career

Parker started her racing career in 1970 as she made her debut in the World Sportscar championship at the BOAC 1000km.

### **1971 - 1972 (Matra)**

#### **1971**

Parker joined Matra as a test driver in 1971 to assist in developing the MS120.

#### **1972**

During the 1972 season she stepped up to replace the late Erkki Virtanen after his sudden passing after the Austrian Grand Prix that year. Immediately making an impact by getting Matra's first pole position and win at her debut during the Italian Grand Prix, this was the closest finish to a Grand Prix that Formula One had ever seen, as Parker finished seven thousands of a second ahead of Van Damme. For her second Grand Prix in the United States she was leading the race for most of the laps, until she, Jesse Masters and Stefan Van Damme came too close together into turn four, causing all three cars to spin out. Masters and Van Damme however recovered much quicker from this accident compared to Parker, meaning they battled for the lead while she was stuck in third until the end.

### **1973 - 1975 (McLaren)**

#### **1973 - 1974**

Matra decided to pull out of Formula One at the end of the 1972 season in order to focus on Le Mans and the Sportscars championship. Parker was in the negotiations with several teams for 1973, with the two most notable being Ferrari and McLaren. She ended up signing with McLaren as she believed that would be her best chance at winning the championship. Parker and Jesse Masters fought valiantly over the seasons together, but Masters had the edge when it came to consistency, which helped him to his victory in the 1974 Drivers' World Championship. Parker won three races (France, Italy and United States) over the 1974 season, whilst Masters won five.

#### **1975**

Parker qualified and finished in third during the Argentine Grand Prix. However, she felt like she had much more speed and was eager to move onto South Africa to try and win. Due to McLaren deciding very early on to abandon the car due to it's bad performance and handling, she had a lot of accidents and very few points results causing her to finish lower in the standings than hoping for. After the Canadian Grand Prix, Maria found out she was pregnant with her first child, who she named Alexander.

#### **1976**

Parker opted to not race in the 1976 season due to the birth her child, as she wanted to spend time at home with her family.

### **1977 - 1978 (Ferrari)**

#### **1977**

Parker was convinced by Ferrari to rejoin the sport. In the first year back she failed to win any race, however she was optimistic for that to change for the 1978 season.

#### **1978**

Parker span on the first lap of the Argentine Grand Prix at the exit of the high-speed *Curvon Salotto* on cold tyres. The car breached the armco barriers and spontaneously combusted into flames. According to the coroner she was killed immediately as she hit the barriers.

## Personal life

Maria Parker was a very private person outside the Formula One paddock and little was known about her personal life. She married Mark Harrison on the 18th of June 1968. Their only child Alexander who was named after Alexander Wilson, was born on the 12th March 1976.

## Posthumous acclaim

In 1988, for the 10th anniversary of her death, Maria's husband - Mark Harrison - started writing a biography about his late wife's life, titled "MARIA PARKER - LIFE, RACING AND DEATH". The book was written utilizing a majority of her personal diary, detailing her personal life which had previously been kept private from most people until the biography was released.

The book was met with widespread acclaim when it was released in 1990, with many drivers commenting their support for the Parker family.

Harrison has commented:

> "Maria was and continues to be the biggest influence of my life, from the moment we met in 1963, to our marriage in 1968, and to current day. I want everyone to get to know her just like I had the privilege to."
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Five-time World Champion Stefan Van Damme - who is also the God Father of Parker's son, Alexander - commented:

> "1978 was a dark year for the sport, much due to Maria's passing in Argentina. This biography is incredibly well written and gives a deep insight into the life of a woman so few of us actually knew, but whom many have been inspired by."
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Parker was inducted into the Motorsport Hall of Fame as part of the 1991 Class alongside Chuck Dingley. Her son Alexander gave a short speech at the event:

> "I am so proud that she is my mother. She defied all the odds and showed that not only could women make it to F1, but they could be damn good at it. I wish I had the chance to get to know her."
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