USF1, Formula One’s newest team, is looking at the possibility of recruiting Indycar driver Danica Patrick for the 2010 season, according to various reports.
The competition has been badly hit by the global financial meltdown, which has resulted in Honda pulling out of F1, new rules that are designed to cut costs among the teams, as well as the recent news of ING not renewing its sponsorship of the Renault team at the end of this season.
Formula One has injected some excitement back to its fans in recent years with some novel experiments, including last year’s inaugural night race here in Singapore.
With people all around the world tightening their purse-strings in anticipation for more bad times ahead, the series would need something more to entice fans to fork out money to watch the races, where tickets have traditionally been costly.
And a classic battle between the sexes may just generate enough buzz to save the sport from going further south.
After all, Patrick is not just a pretty face (she famously posed in a swimsuit for the cover of Sports Illustrated, as well as men’s magazine FHM). The 26-year-old became the first woman to win an Indy car race last year in Japan, three years after turning professional.
WELCOME TO THE POSTMAN'S NEIGHBOURHOOD 
Sex sells in sports and I am sure Danica Patrick will help generate more interest in the troubled F1.
I would always choose to watch Gulbis, Creamer and Wie over Mickelson, Garcia and Singh unless a certain Tiger is on the prowl. Give me Ivanovic or Sharapova over Djorkovic or Murray anytime unless Federer and Nadal are facing each other. What I meant is that sports are watched mostly by males, and it is not difficult to know what most hot-blooded males like.
Even though Ferrari are possibly the best, Raikkonen and Massa are simply boring. The intense rivalry between Alonso and Hamilton is long gone after they went seperate ways. So what is there to see and anticipate in F1?
But if Danica Patrick were to be in F1, things will be different. Imagine if she win a race and step onto a podium, followed by the traditional champagne celebration. The image of a soaked and dripping wet Danica should make the photograhers run out of film and my eyes firmly glued to the TV set.
(Fernando Alonso’s fan)
(Danica’s fan if she comes!)
Comment by Loh Shengli, 24, Man United — February 18, 2009 @ 2:59 pm
While I think Danica Patrick will initially help generate publicity in F1, it will only be a short moment before the interest is gone. Though sex sells in sports, a fully padded Danica Patrick will not capture a man’s eyes compared to the galore of models at the car pits and VIP lounge. Unlike in tennis where the WTA has to ask its players to tone down on sexy dressing, the F1 driver is always in its “uniform” (for fire protection sake). Besides, just like Michelle Wie in men’s golf, there are doubts on whether Danica can even hold her own in F1.
Recently, we see Sébastien Bourdais and Timo Glock joining F1 from Indy car series and they didn’t set the F1 world alight despite have Formula 3 and GP2 racing experience. Both the Indy Car and Formula 1 use a V8 engine, and that is where the similarity ends. It is a big step up into F1; the Indy car is around 715kg without driver while in F1, the whole car, including engine, fluids and driver, weighs only 605 kg. The Indy car acceleration form 0 to 100kph is 2.6 sec (with traction control) while it take only 1.7 sec for a F1 car to do that. Moreover, some Indy race tracks resembles a big oval track which is easier to drive as compared to race circuits and street circuits
Furthermore, while Danica Patrick is a fearless competitor and a great advertisement for women in male sports, her advantage in Indy Car racing would be wipe out in F1. This is because in Indy Car racing, her 45kg body weight is an advantage in terms of racing as compared to other male drivers (70 to 85kg) and she would be able to accelerate faster and have less tire-wear. In F1, the total weight of the car and driver and fuel must be a minimum of 605kg, meaning that her light weight will force her team to inject more fuel into the car and that does not bode well during qualifying and race strategy. During a F1 race, she may lose up to 4kg of water, which is 8.88% of her body weight. Sports studies had shown that a person losing just 4% of their body weight can lose up to 40% of their psycho-physical capacity, which mean Danica Patrick could be a danger on the track. With all this in mind, I doubt Danica Patrick can be a success in F1 and in sports, everyone remembers winner. If she is not successful in F1, how can she boost the troubled industry? Nobody is interested in watching a fully padded woman finish at the bottom few in a race.
My conclusion for Danica Patrick in F1 – Flash in a pan
Recommendation: Could be better marketed as a part time F1 test driver, while maintaining her Indy Car racing. This would increase her exposure and more commercial revenue for her in other parts of the world,
Comment by Chian Kong — February 18, 2009 @ 4:48 pm
I’m impressed with Chian Kong’s facts!!!
I agree that Danica Patrick will not succeed in F1, but because F1 is dominated by super powers in the form of Team Ferrari, McClaren, and Renault.
We have seen the likes of Honda and smaller teams come and go, and if the Japanese, who had always been so successful when they ‘do it’, had failed miserbly, what makes us think that a ‘new team’ would make it in the unforgiving F1 competition?
There might be a small inital impact, but the attention on the female driver will be slowly diverted away as the season goes on…
Adrian Lim, 29, Civil Servant
Norwich City Fan
Comment by Adrian Lim — February 18, 2009 @ 8:14 pm
The reason Formula One has falling viewership or followers does not lie in the lack of exciting drivers to watch out for. IN Alonso, Hamilton, Massa and Raikkonen, they indeed have a very competitive environment and fascinating drivers to stimulate the imagination of the masses. However perhaps due to the long period of competition which spans 7 to 8 months and the drawn out nature of each race, audience find it hard to stay attracted to the F1 championship. Throwing in a woman into an all men arena was never going to work. You still will have doubts over the ability of Danica to handle the demands of a long season. Also with the top machines being occupied, she will never have much of a chance with some 2nd rated vehicle. I personally do not care much about drivers forever languishing within the lower part of the Drivers Championship. With her all wrapped up, there was never going to be much of an excitement watching her drive. She would just be another vehicle being lapped by McClaren or Ferrari. Also the expensive tickets are really detrimental to the development of F1 as a globally enjoyed sport.
Comment by Yam Hing — February 20, 2009 @ 2:48 am
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Comment by Heartburn Home Remedy — April 15, 2009 @ 8:25 pm