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The truth is she´s been improving her abilities in the IRL the last few years. Her 3rd place at the last 2009 Indy 500 is proof of that. She is just starting to maintain a high level of competition in racing.
The probable move to the F1 will be a milestone in racing (if F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone agrees to let a woman drive at the circus maximus), but she certainly will have to struggle for many years on last of the grid teams before she gets a chance to shine on better teams, which in turn is obtained with good performances. A never ending curve. There are many examples from drivers who failed to succeed in F1 coming from IRL or CART: Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr., and Scott Speed among others.
On the other side, a move in to NASCAR will be a much natural environment change for Danica Patrick, she will experience a downfall in technological and mechanical development of the racing car, she will ride on the same oval tracks as IRL, will see the same American crowds that fill the grandstands plus she definitely will earn more money. Still, she will have to struggle the same period of time (if not more) to win in NASCAR as you can see today with former IRL drivers Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. which have become more renowned for their fiery crashes.
Jack Arute, the longtime ABC racing reporter and analyst said:
"In the IRL, you're like a fighter pilot. You're in there, and you've got telemetry and you've got engineers to tell you what you need to do".
"In stock-car racing, you've got no luxury of that, you've got a whole different set of terminology and issues to deal with".
John Andretti said:
"It's the difference between driving a city bus and a motorcycle".
"One thing that's really different for them is sitting in an oven 4½ hours, as opposed to sitting in an open cockpit for two hours,"
That being said, like any other hypothesis, there's always the exception to the rule, such as Tony Stewart who came from IRL or Juan Pablo Montoya who came from F1. In any case Danica Patrick will much probably continue to succeed in racing (more in NASCAR than in F1).... but as mentioned before, this will only come with time and long racing days.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Danica_Patrick_at_the_2008_Tribeca_Film_Festival.JPG/449px-Danica_Patrick_at_the_2008_Tribeca_Film_Festival.JPG
Source(s):
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/2008-06-20-irl-to-nascar_N.htm
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There is a lot of hype about surrounding this lady driver. Before people speculate if she moves up to Formula 1.
1. Is she fast enough?
Meaning capable to push a slow car to get a better finish. A fast car is expected to qualify in pole position and finish in the top 3 podium slots. If she cant consistently accomplish that? She is slow.
Is she drives a slow car thats in the middle or back pack and finish at the podium. Or at least salvage some points while starting at last place during qualifying. Thats a good fast driver.
2. Is she a consistent podium finisher or won an IRL?
2009 - currently 5th place
2008 - 6th place
2007 - 7th place
2006 - 12th place
2005 - 12th place
There is doubt that she is improving. But really she isn't really ready to move up to Formula 1 in a long shot. Nascar? I don't know. I really don't like cars racing around in a circle.
In reality its extremely difficult to get a drive in an F1 car. An F1 Team only have 3 drivers. Driver 1 & 2 are main race car drivers. A Test Driver is the 3rd and is sometimes called upon as replacement driver in an unlikely event of driver injury.
An F1 test driver job is no joke. You don't just test the parts and see if it works. Your inputs are relied upon to make improvements on the current car. You are expected to drive as fast as the main drivers. Most Test Drivers are former F1 main drivers. Its also used as a gateway for them to get into the big teams like Maclaren, Williams or Ferrari.
If Danica Patrick wants a drive in an F1 car the best she can hope for is a spot for a test driver. But currently I don't think she got what it takes yet to be in F1.
Currently a Swiss Female driver Natacha Gachnang is eying a spot as a Test Driver for a Campos outfit and is being considered. Campos is a new F1 team that is expected to debut in 2010. Natacha Gachnang currently competing in Formula 2 Championships and is the 1st Female driver in F2.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danica_Patrick
Female driver hopes for F1 test. 18 June 2009
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/06/18/female-driver-hopes-for-f1-test/
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Answered Question
M$1
June 29, 2009 02:34 PM
Should Danica Patrick stay with the IRL, move to Nascar or move to F1?
There has been speculation of Danica Patrick moving from IRL to either Nascar or F1. What do you think she should do and why? 
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Best Answer Chosen by Asker
| June 29, 2009 04:22 PM |
The probable move to the F1 will be a milestone in racing (if F1 boss Bernie Ecclestone agrees to let a woman drive at the circus maximus), but she certainly will have to struggle for many years on last of the grid teams before she gets a chance to shine on better teams, which in turn is obtained with good performances. A never ending curve. There are many examples from drivers who failed to succeed in F1 coming from IRL or CART: Michael Andretti, Al Unser Jr., and Scott Speed among others.
On the other side, a move in to NASCAR will be a much natural environment change for Danica Patrick, she will experience a downfall in technological and mechanical development of the racing car, she will ride on the same oval tracks as IRL, will see the same American crowds that fill the grandstands plus she definitely will earn more money. Still, she will have to struggle the same period of time (if not more) to win in NASCAR as you can see today with former IRL drivers Dario Franchitti and Sam Hornish Jr. which have become more renowned for their fiery crashes.
Jack Arute, the longtime ABC racing reporter and analyst said:
"In the IRL, you're like a fighter pilot. You're in there, and you've got telemetry and you've got engineers to tell you what you need to do".
"In stock-car racing, you've got no luxury of that, you've got a whole different set of terminology and issues to deal with".
John Andretti said:
"It's the difference between driving a city bus and a motorcycle".
"One thing that's really different for them is sitting in an oven 4½ hours, as opposed to sitting in an open cockpit for two hours,"
That being said, like any other hypothesis, there's always the exception to the rule, such as Tony Stewart who came from IRL or Juan Pablo Montoya who came from F1. In any case Danica Patrick will much probably continue to succeed in racing (more in NASCAR than in F1).... but as mentioned before, this will only come with time and long racing days.
Source(s):
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/motor/2008-06-20-irl-to-nascar_N.htm
| Asker's Rating: |
• Thanks to everyone for the great answers. I'm sure we will se soon enough what happens in the world of "Circus Danicus"
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Other Answers (5)
June 29, 2009 02:51 PM
good points. The Nascar drivers say she would struggle though because of the many differences between the two series. (Juan Montoya is used to make the case). Do you think she would struggle?
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June 29, 2009 05:56 PM
I am not very familiar with Danica Patrick. I never saw her drive. I don't get IRL races here in my country. I only get F1, A1, WTCC, and asian races. I only heard of her thru GoDaddy ads thru the podcasts I subscribe. There is a lot of hype about surrounding this lady driver. Before people speculate if she moves up to Formula 1.
1. Is she fast enough?
Meaning capable to push a slow car to get a better finish. A fast car is expected to qualify in pole position and finish in the top 3 podium slots. If she cant consistently accomplish that? She is slow.
Is she drives a slow car thats in the middle or back pack and finish at the podium. Or at least salvage some points while starting at last place during qualifying. Thats a good fast driver.
2. Is she a consistent podium finisher or won an IRL?
2009 - currently 5th place
2008 - 6th place
2007 - 7th place
2006 - 12th place
2005 - 12th place
There is doubt that she is improving. But really she isn't really ready to move up to Formula 1 in a long shot. Nascar? I don't know. I really don't like cars racing around in a circle.
In reality its extremely difficult to get a drive in an F1 car. An F1 Team only have 3 drivers. Driver 1 & 2 are main race car drivers. A Test Driver is the 3rd and is sometimes called upon as replacement driver in an unlikely event of driver injury.
An F1 test driver job is no joke. You don't just test the parts and see if it works. Your inputs are relied upon to make improvements on the current car. You are expected to drive as fast as the main drivers. Most Test Drivers are former F1 main drivers. Its also used as a gateway for them to get into the big teams like Maclaren, Williams or Ferrari.
If Danica Patrick wants a drive in an F1 car the best she can hope for is a spot for a test driver. But currently I don't think she got what it takes yet to be in F1.
Currently a Swiss Female driver Natacha Gachnang is eying a spot as a Test Driver for a Campos outfit and is being considered. Campos is a new F1 team that is expected to debut in 2010. Natacha Gachnang currently competing in Formula 2 Championships and is the 1st Female driver in F2.
Source(s):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danica_Patrick
Female driver hopes for F1 test. 18 June 2009
http://f1.gpupdate.net/en/news/2009/06/18/female-driver-hopes-for-f1-test/
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June 29, 2009 10:59 PM
imadrid;
Still, her move to F1 will be a milestone. Non of the 5 women that previously raced there had the fame, the ability, the experience, the level, the background or the media exposure Danica has today, not to mention that Bernie Ecclestone has expressed no women will be allow to race in F1 now. So, with that in perspective, it will be a milestone if Danica could force an F1 doctrine change in that matter.
Aside from Mario Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya (winners of the Indy 500 and CART series during a 30 year span), the move from American racing series by its former drivers into the F1 has not been a path of roses. It all had been a total failure with the likes of Al Unser Jr., Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Tora Takagi, Scott Speed, Sebastian Bourdais...
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Still, her move to F1 will be a milestone. Non of the 5 women that previously raced there had the fame, the ability, the experience, the level, the background or the media exposure Danica has today, not to mention that Bernie Ecclestone has expressed no women will be allow to race in F1 now. So, with that in perspective, it will be a milestone if Danica could force an F1 doctrine change in that matter.
Aside from Mario Andretti, Jacques Villeneuve and Juan Pablo Montoya (winners of the Indy 500 and CART series during a 30 year span), the move from American racing series by its former drivers into the F1 has not been a path of roses. It all had been a total failure with the likes of Al Unser Jr., Bobby Rahal, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Tora Takagi, Scott Speed, Sebastian Bourdais...
July 02, 2009 03:47 PM
@pixelsilva
Despite's Bernie Ecclestone's male chauvinistic attitude.
As long as Danica Patrick can acquire a "Formula 1 Super License." There is nothing Bernie can do about it, wether he likes it or not. The Teams decide and choose which driver's the want to hire.
There are many female drivers in motor sports making a name for themselves. Popularity alone is not a fair gauge of a skill.
The only thing different about this is Danica Patrick is she's american. Also take into consideration the huge marketing hype machine behind her entourage.
The true reasons why Indy500 and CART drivers don't do well in F1. Is that they aren't good enough. F1 is the world's premier sporting event. Even if you got a slow car. You should be able to perform and push your car. No excuses.
Report
Despite's Bernie Ecclestone's male chauvinistic attitude.
As long as Danica Patrick can acquire a "Formula 1 Super License." There is nothing Bernie can do about it, wether he likes it or not. The Teams decide and choose which driver's the want to hire.
There are many female drivers in motor sports making a name for themselves. Popularity alone is not a fair gauge of a skill.
The only thing different about this is Danica Patrick is she's american. Also take into consideration the huge marketing hype machine behind her entourage.
The true reasons why Indy500 and CART drivers don't do well in F1. Is that they aren't good enough. F1 is the world's premier sporting event. Even if you got a slow car. You should be able to perform and push your car. No excuses.
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There have been a total 5 Female drivers is Formula 1 since its inception of F1 World Championships in 1950.
1. Maria Teresa de Filippis 1958 - 1959
2. Lella Lombardi 1974 - 1976
3. Divina Galica 1976 - 1978-
4. Desiré Wilson 1979
5. Giovanna Amati 1992
Jacques Villeneuve competed in CART IndyCar World Series. His transistion to F1 was a sucess. On his 1st season at Williams in 1996 he finished 2nd in the Championships. In 1997 he was F1 World Champion.
The reason why Michael Andretti and Al Unser Jr. didn't do well in Formula 1 is that they are slow drivers and aren't good enough for F1.