"You know I've got one of those wonderful ideas ... women should be dressed in white like all the other domestic appliances." - Formula One president Bernie Ecclestone, on the subject of Danica Patrick's fourth-place finish at the 2005 Indy 500.
Better get a white firesuit ready, Bernie.
IndyCar race winner Danica Patrick has set her sights on a Formula One test, with Honda Racing confirming they would be interested in running the Andretti-Green Racing driver.It would only be a test, it's not even scheduled, and it by no means indicates Danicker would be off to F1 anytime soon...but who wouldn't want to see Bernie's reaction to post-race quotes like this.
Patrick's maiden victory at Motegi has prompted fresh speculation about her future, with Honda being an obvious candidate to consider her because the Japanese manufacturer supply her engines.
Honda Racing F1 CEO Nick Fry has admitted that his team would seriously consider running Patrick for a test, although made it clear no discussions have taken place about the matter.
"We haven't instigated anything, but if Danica wanted to be test driver then we'd be more than happy to talk about it," he explained.
(MORE from Autosport)
"I got back going and I was: 'This is exciting rear-end stuff going on here.'" - Danica Patrick, after encountering a faulty mount. Or a bad stud. Or getting squeezed by Marco.
It should be noted the source
Looking at the last 2 years of Honda's F1 program, I wouldn't be surprised at who they have test rides to. Anything for positive press right now.
The "exciting rear end stuff" is more up Max Mosley's alley than Bernie's.
I intentionally left Mosely's name out of the post just to see when the first "Nazi orgy" reference woul appear.
Thank you, Anonymous.
Maybe Danicker's car could be sponsored by Whirlpool. (Rim shot). Oh, wait, F1 teams never mention their sponsors. Do they even have them? So Danica would fit right in there as well.
I enjoy reading your blog Jeff, and I understand that you're writing for an audience of mostly men, but I'm getting a little tired of the constant sexual innuendo. Isn't there anything else to discuss about Danica? For instance, is she qualified to drive an F1 car? Based on what she's done on the track, I say absolutely not.
Fair enough criticisms, Sam, but I would like to point a few things out.
Much of the Danica innuendo is here because that’s how she markets herself. Plus if she or any other driver says something that can be read as entertaining double entendres then I’ll post it, although when she says it it makes it that much funnier.
It’s a fine line but I’m not here to humiliate anyone and I try to keep the postings safe for consumption by my kids. Usually.
Anyhow, as for her being qualified to test drive an F1 car, I say sure. I mean, it’s a test and if Honda wants to have her or any other IndyCar driver test their cars for a little publicity then I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.
Now, if they wanted to boot Rubens to give her the ride it’s another story.
Good point - she has brought a lot of this on herself by marketing her sexuality. I can't blame her for that, and I'm glad it brings more attention to motorsports. As a long time fan of the sport, I'm just getting tired of her gender being her only notable quality. Perhaps now that she's won that will change a little, but I won't hold my breath until a few more women follow in her footsteps.
Based on Danica's performance on street/road races thus far, I'd say, no, she doesn't warrant an F1 test. There are tests and then there are tests. Sometimes a test is just a ride and nobody involved is under any illusion that there is any kind of ride at stake. Although if she got a real test-test, look for Andretti's head to explode. If Danica wants to be F1 girl, she can do herself a lot of good by showing well against the vastly improved field for street and road races in the IRL this year.
Keep in mind that "test" is a relative term. For instance, Jeff Gordon "tested" Montoyas F1 ride at the Indy road course a few years ago.
I'm pretty sure Jeff has F1 FEVER! Look for properly umlauted Räikkönen references soon.
I would love to see a lady F1 driver.... Bernie Ecclestone's head would explode !!
And I'd rather have IndyCar drivers test with F1 than be interesting in NECKCAR.