Honda considers Danica for PR stunt

UPDATE #2 Another reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, Of course a Danica Patrick F1 test would be a PR stunt. If not, every IRL driver who has won only one race would get a test, too. Graham Rahal won a race this year. Where's his F1 test? What about all the other IRL single race winners? However, Danica is 'special' because she is a cute female. In the past the male IRL champions, not single race winners, but champions, got an F1 test. Now Honda is lowering their standards to if you win a race you get a test? They did the same thing with single race winner Marco Andretti because he has a 'big' name. I could see if Danica won the championship, was a multiple race winner who ran at the front of the field all the time, and was fast enough to put the car on pole frequently. Instead she is not capable of doing any of that, so don't insult my intelligence by saying Honda would give her a proper F1 test because she has the potential to be an F1 driver. If she was F1 material, pigs would fly over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I guess they must think we fans are stupid. Danny Jones

05/01/08 A reader writes, Dear AutoRacing1.com, You have got to be kidding me, right? Danica has won only one race in all her life, and that on a fuel economy run, and now she qualifies for an F1 test? She isn't good enough for F1 and will NEVER get an F1 ride. Everyone in the paddock knows this. We laugh at all the attention she gets because we know she is a wanker. A good looking wanker, but a wanker nonetheless. She's a pretty face that in most cases falls right back when the green flag drops. And her performance on road courses is laughable. The IRL had to even implement power steering (OK variable steering, but pretty much the same thing) just for her because her arms would tire and she would fade as the race wore one. If this test happens it is nothing but a PR stunt and I don't care how Honda tries to characterize it – it is PR for Danica, PR for the IRL, and PR for Honda. This sport has become a joke when a pretty face with questionable driving abilities is the hero. I and many others inside the paddock are besides ourselves. Name Withheld by Request

05/01/08 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.

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.

Speaking to this week's Autosport, Patrick confirmed that she was interested in a run in an F1 car, but only if it was a serious test.

"Every driver would love to drive a Formula One car at some point in their life, so yeah," she said. "I don't think there's anything wrong with a real, proper test.

"I was asked to do a demonstration lap at Indy in 2005, and I said, 'No way. You're making me a show. That's embarrassing.' But I would say that a real test is absolutely something I would do." Autosport.com