Can Danica Patrick make it into F1 ?

[Kapel]

On the contrary, she is very modest. She is saying if I am successful I'll make it. She isn't saying she will make it regardless

She also wants to stay happy

Then she should join F1 after Max Mosely has been chucked out of the plane on the way back from US GP for proposing such changes in F1

[JayVee]

On the contrary, she is very modest. She is saying if I am successful I'll make it. She isn't saying she will make it regardless

She also wants to stay happy

Then she should join F1 after Max Mosely has been chucked out of the plane on the way back from US GP for proposing such changes in F1

mmmmm........ Patrick/Barrichello at BAR Honda in '06

And guess who'll BARBBQ the Honda

[Kapel]

Brazilians dont like the Americans na???

[rah]

Have you ever heard of an F1 driver without an ego?

[Julian Mayo]

On the contrary, she is very modest. She is saying if I am successful I'll make it. She isn't saying she will make it regardless

She also wants to stay happy

Best if she doesn't come on this forum then!

[mlittle]

JayVee, I read that same article you mention and you're right, she knows she's a good racer. She's proved it in each ladder series, from Vauxhall and FF, to Barber Dodge and Atlantics, and now as an IndyCar driver. It isn't it ironic how a lot of the best drivers, regardless of series, have the same general outlook on their racing careers. Note what she said in the caption you posted; "When you are successful, things take care of themselves." If things continue to grow and succeed for her in the IRL now, especially if Danica wins a race or two, like Infineon, Watkins Glen, or any of the other IndyCar series events in 05', the opportunities will take care of themselves. As I said in an early posting, if she plays her racing cards just so, she not only will be a world champion someday, but I suspect years from now people will look at her career and say, "There was one of the great American racers in motorsports," and you could possibly see her name in that great pantheon of auto racing legends, alongside other Americans like Phil Hill, Mario Andretti, Danny Sullivan, and others surely to come. But that's in the future; let's just worry about the present for now, shall we? She's still in her first year of IndyCar racing, but if the season continues as it has, it should be very interesting.

[Julian Mayo]

Yup

[JayVee]

JayVee, I read that same article you mention and you're right, she knows she's a good racer. She's proved it in each ladder series, from Vauxhall and FF, to Barber Dodge and Atlantics, and now as an IndyCar driver. It isn't it ironic how a lot of the best drivers, regardless of series, have the same general outlook on their racing careers. Note what she said in the caption you posted; "When you are successful, things take care of themselves." If things continue to grow and succeed for her in the IRL now, especially if Danica wins a race or two, like Infineon, Watkins Glen, or any of the other IndyCar series events in 05', the opportunities will take care of themselves. As I said in an early posting, if she plays her racing cards just so, she not only will be a world champion someday, but I suspect years from now people will look at her career and say, "There was one of the great American racers in motorsports," and you could possibly see her name in that great pantheon of auto racing legends, alongside other Americans like Phil Hill, Mario Andretti, Danny Sullivan, and others surely to come. But that's in the future; let's just worry about the present for now, shall we? She's still in her first year of IndyCar racing, but if the season continues as it has, it should be very interesting.

Thanks mlittle,

It would be great if you keep us updated on her progress

[mlittle]

I'll certainly do my best. Here's a brief summary of her season so far:

Homestead-16th(DNF-accident)
Phoenix-15th
St. Petersburg-12th
Motegi, Japan-4th(started 2nd, led 32 laps, beat polesitter Sam Hornish, Jr., to the first turn on lap 1)
Indy-4th(fastest rookie in field, qualified 4th, led 19 laps, involved in late-race duel w/500 winner Dan Wheldon)
Texas-13th(last car on lead lap)

All 6 tracks are different in their layouts. Homestead's a 1.5-mile, variable banking oval w/18-20 degrees bankings in the turns. Phoenix is a 1-mile 'peculiar' oval(peculiar in that the track runs like a road course), w/each of its' 4 turns different. St. Petersburg's a street course, the first in the IRL's 10-yr. history, set up on an airport layout similar to ChampCar's Cleveland race, which is also on an airport layout. Motegi's a 1.5-mile, low-banked oval similar to NASCAR's Darlington speedway, w/turns 3-4 shorter in distance than turns 1-2(sort of an egg-shaped oval). Indy, is of course, a 2.5-mile, rectangular oval w/around 9 degrees banking in the turns, and which was recently "diamond-ground" to improve tire wire and grip(which, ironically, has been giving the F1 drivers fits so far this weekend). Finally, Texas is a 1.5-mile, 24-degree banked oval where speeds can average 215-220 mph, and where the IndyCars can run 2 or 3 wide, in packs, all around the place. I call it "The Texas SuperCollider" for precisely that reason, the racing is that close-packed for all 200 laps, it seems.

As far as the remainder of the schedule, next up is Richmond, then Kansas, Nashville, Milwaukee, Michigan, Kentucky, Pikes Peak, Infineon, Chicagoland, Watkins Glen, and Fontana. I'll describe the tracks as the season goes along.

[JayVee]

Thanks mlittle!

[Julian Mayo]

I thought pikes peak was a hillclimb

[lemon_martini2]

Out of the women drivers we've had so far,she's the most likely to succeed.de Filippis was a novelty in the 50s.Lombardi was pretty good,getting a 6th and 7th(although her half-point in Spain did come as a result of a large number of accidents when the race was flagged down after 28 laps).Wilson and Galica didn't get on the grid in championship races.Amati seemed to leap into F1 because she was a woman-all she had was 7th in a F3000 race.Even in a bad Brabham,she struggled and didn't qualify

I'll certainly do my best. Here's a brief summary of her season so far:

Homestead-16th(DNF-accident)
Phoenix-15th
St. Petersburg-12th
Motegi, Japan-4th(started 2nd, led 32 laps, beat polesitter Sam Hornish, Jr., to the first turn on lap 1)
Indy-4th(fastest rookie in field, qualified 4th, led 19 laps, involved in late-race duel w/500 winner Dan Wheldon)
Texas-13th(last car on lead lap)

I'd want to judge her on the rest of the season-see whether she can sustain those 4th places or if they're just freak results.If the rest of the results are in the 15th/16th places,I wouldn't be too impressed,but if she can maintain the Top 6 momentum,then maybe one more season in Indys and she'd be ready for F1.

[Julian Mayo]

She weighs about 20lb dripping wet. The drivers weight is not factored in, in F1, I reckon BAR, with their penchant for running light, would love to have her

[mlittle]

This is a 2-part posting, so I'll try to be brief on each part.

1-Julian, I understand your confusion. There are two races run at Pikes Peak; one is the annual hillclimb up the mtn. there, similar to a WRC rally stage. The second reference is to Pikes Peak International Raceway(PPIR) near Colorado Springs, a one-mile D-shaped oval where a premium is placed on handling rather than speed due to the lower ambient air pressure(it is, what, a little over 1 mile above sea-level).

2-I agree lemon; of the five women(Janet Guthrie, Desire Wilson, Lyn St. James, Sarah Fisher and Danica Patrick) who have competed in Indy-style racing since the late 1970's, Danica's had the best shot of the group--She's got the best equipment and team behind her. I'm curious as to your low-end prediction of future results; in the most-recent edition of Sports Illustrated, there's a comparison of Patrick's avg. finish compared to the past 5 series champions at the 6-race mark of their respective first IndyCar seasons:
Danica Patrick-10.7
Tony Kanaan(2004)-8.7(first IRL season was '03)
Scott Dixon(2003)-10.0(first season was '03)
Sam Hornish, Jr(01'-02)-14.5(first season was 2000)
Buddy Lazier(2000)-17.2(first six races were in 96-97)
Greg Ray(1999)-21.3(first season was 1997)
You're right, though: she'll be judged on the season on the whole. But I get the feeling those 4th-place finishes were not freak results but the results from both good driving on her part and good strategy from her team.

[Julian Mayo]

How she cuts it on the road circuits will hopefully clarify things a tad