By Lemmy Gibson
The news that an American Formula One team will be launched in late February has led to some interesting rumors. Why? The team will not be racing until the 2010 Formula One season, but it is going to have two American drivers. Guess whose name has surfaced?
The allure of bringing Danica Patrick to Formula One has to be huge for the new American team known as USF1. Whether the team is serious about approach Patrick is questionable considering they haven't even officially launched yet. Throw in the fact that one of the owners is Peter Windsor, a person intimately familiar with how marketing works, and one can hardly doubt that the team isn't doing everything it can to build up publicity for its launch.
Amidst all the rumor mongering regarding Patrick going to Formula One is one forgotten issue. Nobody seems to be really discussing whether she is ready to take on the Formula One machine. It is a huge marketing opportunity for her that would bring her untold riches in sponsorships, but most Americans have been ground up and spit out when they take on Formula One. One needs only look at Michael Andretti to see how poorly things can go.
To be a success in Formula One, a driver needs three things - talent, tough skin and the ability to deal with pressure. So, does Danica Patrick have these three things? Let's take a look.
Talent
Although she has won only one race, it seems fairly clear that Patrick has the talent to drive. There are no ovals in Formula One, so there would be a learning curve for the circuits. Given her strong marketing potential, one would think the USF1 team would be prepared to give her a few years at least to get the hang of it.
Tough Skin
Formula One is a men's game for better or worse. Snide comments and criticisms would not come up occasionally, they would come up all the time. One can picture a few butt grabs and the like from Flavio Briatorie of Renault! Danica has shown a tough skin breaking into Indy Car, but Formula One is an entirely different game. It is hard to know if she could handle it until she was in the game.
Dealing with Pressure
A female Formula One driver would have sponsorships that would make Michael Jordon envious. Patrick would be the only game in town for sponsors looking to appeal to a huge female audience around the world. She would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, but that money would come with pressure to succeed. This will be difficult because the USF1 team will need three to five years to develop before it has any hope of competing, even if it ever does. Privateer teams cannot keep up with the manufacturers in Formula One. They simply don't have the money. Whether sponsors and fans would understand this and give Patrick a break is hard to know.
Can Danica Patrick make it in Formula One? Contrary to what most gurus are saying, I think she can. The primary reason is she has a lot of fight in her. When having confrontations with other drivers in the IRL/Indy Car, she stands her ground. She would need to do that in Formula One as well. She probably could, but one has to wonder if she would want to deal with the aggravation.
Perhaps we'll know the answer in 2010.
The news that an American Formula One team will be launched in late February has led to some interesting rumors. Why? The team will not be racing until the 2010 Formula One season, but it is going to have two American drivers. Guess whose name has surfaced?
The allure of bringing Danica Patrick to Formula One has to be huge for the new American team known as USF1. Whether the team is serious about approach Patrick is questionable considering they haven't even officially launched yet. Throw in the fact that one of the owners is Peter Windsor, a person intimately familiar with how marketing works, and one can hardly doubt that the team isn't doing everything it can to build up publicity for its launch.
Amidst all the rumor mongering regarding Patrick going to Formula One is one forgotten issue. Nobody seems to be really discussing whether she is ready to take on the Formula One machine. It is a huge marketing opportunity for her that would bring her untold riches in sponsorships, but most Americans have been ground up and spit out when they take on Formula One. One needs only look at Michael Andretti to see how poorly things can go.
To be a success in Formula One, a driver needs three things - talent, tough skin and the ability to deal with pressure. So, does Danica Patrick have these three things? Let's take a look.
Talent
Although she has won only one race, it seems fairly clear that Patrick has the talent to drive. There are no ovals in Formula One, so there would be a learning curve for the circuits. Given her strong marketing potential, one would think the USF1 team would be prepared to give her a few years at least to get the hang of it.
Tough Skin
Formula One is a men's game for better or worse. Snide comments and criticisms would not come up occasionally, they would come up all the time. One can picture a few butt grabs and the like from Flavio Briatorie of Renault! Danica has shown a tough skin breaking into Indy Car, but Formula One is an entirely different game. It is hard to know if she could handle it until she was in the game.
Dealing with Pressure
A female Formula One driver would have sponsorships that would make Michael Jordon envious. Patrick would be the only game in town for sponsors looking to appeal to a huge female audience around the world. She would bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, but that money would come with pressure to succeed. This will be difficult because the USF1 team will need three to five years to develop before it has any hope of competing, even if it ever does. Privateer teams cannot keep up with the manufacturers in Formula One. They simply don't have the money. Whether sponsors and fans would understand this and give Patrick a break is hard to know.
Can Danica Patrick make it in Formula One? Contrary to what most gurus are saying, I think she can. The primary reason is she has a lot of fight in her. When having confrontations with other drivers in the IRL/Indy Car, she stands her ground. She would need to do that in Formula One as well. She probably could, but one has to wonder if she would want to deal with the aggravation.
Perhaps we'll know the answer in 2010.
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