Danica Patrick wants to race in F1

[Black XT]

Piquet: Patrick not ready for F1 - Yahoo! Eurosport UK

That is what I figured. I saw pictures with her racing in England and she was racing some Ferrari's.

[Business810]

I don't really have an opinion on Patrick either way, but if she ever did make the switch it would probably boost a bit more interest in F1 here in the USA, which certainly wouldn't be a bad thing. Maybe we might be able to have a race on our soil again and be able to find the races on TV without much difficulty.

I think she may need to accomplish a bit more in IRL in order to be considered by an F1 team, though.

[wrx686]

I think she may need to accomplish a bit more in IRL in order to be considered by an F1 team, though.

+1, im not a huge Patrick fan myself.

[Craven Moorhead]

So does every other kid who ever raced a go kart. We raced karts during the area the Patrics raced karts, Danica is a decent driver but she is not F1 material and I dont believe TJ has the type of money to buy her a ride. If you have an extra 100 million laying arround you could give Aguri a call.

[SD_GR]

A woman has already won a Formula 1 race, so I don't know how much $$ could be raised simply on the novelty of gender (since there is no novelty of gender; I remember Lombardi faintly but I certainly remember Amati -- never saw Wilson drive though).

Even Amati got her share of criticism from her own countrymen, despite driving relatively recently. The criticism ranged from "get out of the way" to "go wash dishes" as I recall. Even if one sets the "dishes" critique aside, the "slow" bit was I'm afraid true. Either way, anybody can drive F1 if they bring along enough sponsors, so if she or anyone -- male, female, in transition, whatever -- can bring several suitcases of money to every GP guaranteed for a season (keep in mind teams have to commit to show up before given a chance to qualify for the GP) then there's no worries. It's just $$ that matters at the bottom of the ladder.

[Weasel 555]

Patrick has had a checkered past with F1 prospects. She was initially offered a chance to demonstrate an F1 car at Indy in 2005, but declined saying it was just for show. Around the same time, she was shocked by Bernie Ecclestone, who compared her to a kitchen appliance. Since her Motegi win, however, the international motorsport community has been abuzz about the prospect. Honda, which supplies the engine in Danica's IndyCar (and everyone else's, for that matter) says it will seriously consider giving Patrick a shot at testing for its F1 team. While some debate whether a woman has the physical strength to drive an F1 car, Patrick says she wants to focus on contending for the IRL championship before she considers a possible step up to Formula One.

Autoblog Danica F1

[SD_GR]

I rarely side with Ecclestone, but his comments (political in nature and by definition, therefore unrepeatable on this forum) were at the very least effective if not polite.

He's got a product to sell, and she's not the ideal person to help him sell it in his view.

I suppose Honda have enough cash to float a ride for her, and they could certainly do worse than to hire her. However, their car needs serious work and it seems that throwing money at that problem hasn't been as rewarding as one might expect. They might do better re-thinking their technology before engaging in publicity stunts (remember the themed livery etc. from seasons past -- everyone couldn't help but notice, but then they switched back to actually watching the GP, and Honda were on the same track at times but not in the same GP). I don't think a marginally known (outside the US) semi-celebrity will help them win GPs any more than it'll help them draw more attention to themselves.

[PdP]

Danica hasn't exactly dominated the IRL last time I checked. Yes, we are all talking about her now because she won her first (FIRST!) race recently but that doesn't qualify her to compete in the premiere racing league. F1 is the pinnacle of racing, has a global following, sports some of the most challenging courses, and almost every driver dominated somewhere before getting the green light from sponsors. Shouldn't we be learning a lesson from Super Aguri? Here is a team that cant even finish the season due to sponsor drop outs even though both drivers put up a good fight in Spain last week. Rather then bring a novelty act to Formula, why don't we send one of our best to represent this fair nation on the international stage. Even though I don't watch racing state side (F1 and WRC FTW) I am sure there are many better suited and more worthy of an F1 sponsor then Pattrick.

[Craven Moorhead]

[QUOTE=PdP;2273189] Rather then bring a novelty act to Formula, why don't we send one of our best to represent this fair nation on the international stage. Even though I don't watch racing state side (F1 and WRC FTW) I am sure there are many better suited and more worthy of an F1 sponsor then Pattrick.

Your right there are, one of the reasons the US is not represented in F1 is no one here cares. Unlike other countries who are very nationalistic and support their drivers with the necessary funds American companies dont. Speed gave it a good try but in F1 equipment is everything and a jr. team does not offer the equipment needed to showcase talent. Look at Bourdais he cant get out of Q1 in speeds old car. A smart man once said the best way to make a million in racing is to start with three. Racing opportunities are all about having the money or family in the sport. There are more talented drivers who will never get the chance than there are talent driving race cars in the US today.

[SD_GR]

US drivers "sent" to F1 generally fall off the radar in their home country. If/when Patrick makes it to F1, it will likely be the same for her unless she does exceptionally well (Monaco: Patrick, followed by Raikkonen, Hamilton, Kovalainen, Massa and the only word pronounced semi-correctly by the US announcer might be "Patrick" before moving on to baseball results etc.). This is less likely to happen IMO as a massive lottery win.

Another way she'll stay in the public eye in the US is if she wrecks dramatically (DNFs are boring worldwide, but a good wreck is always great on US evening news). The kit is now at the level that multiple dramatic wrecks are survivable, but they're still expensive so she'll likely only get one or two under her belt before the party's over -- again, limited coverage.

Since the most likely scenario would be DNFs despite talent and hard work for a midfield team, I doubt she'll receive much media attention in the US if she goes to F1. Nobody I know remembers Scott Speed, and most people I know do not realise that Andretti was a world driving champion (some don't know he's from the US...), nevermind that his son also had a go (and failed miserably despite top tier equipment).

Given all this I can't fault US drivers for being absent from F1. I can fault them, however, when they are given the chance via connections in addition to talent and simply do not put forth the commitment -- this was the case with Andretti's son, who apparently decided to continue living in the US and commute instead of doing the right thing and moving to someplace more reasonable. What could have been is now only the subject of speculation, maybe as a result.

[wrx686]

Im going to have to say that even if Patrick made it to F1 i probably would not support her, just becasue i have my other drivers that i love watching. I mean i dont even notice her when she does race, their is no way that i will pay attention to her in a F1.