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Danica Patrick has responded to Susie Wolff's comments about only Lewis Hamilton showing support to the F1 academy. The American racer feels such a thing has to be authentic and not forced.
During the US GP race weekend, the F1 Academy races have been held as one of the support races. Susie Wolff, the managing director of the series, had talked about how Lewis Hamilton tends to be the only driver who shows up to support the series with words of encouragement, and that you don't see anybody else doing that.
The matter was subsequently put forth to Danica Patrick, someone who has broken boundaries when it comes to women in motorsport. Patrick had a somewhat different point of view, as she feels this is not something that should be forced on anyone.
Patrick said if Lewis Hamilton does it, it's because of his authentic drive to do so, but that if someone is forced into doing it, it would defeat the purpose.
Patrick said on the Sky Sports broadcast:
"I think it has to be authentic, I really do. And we know more about Lewis because of the things that he does. And so while it would be nice I’m sure for Susie to have more drivers supporting and being around and mentoring, they don’t have to, they just have to be true to themselves. Lewis loves it and you see him doing a lot of things and it’s really good. He plays a really big role and he has a lot of influence.”
Susie Wolff's comments about Lewis Hamilton
Earlier in the weekend, Susie Wolff had commented on the lack of support from F1 drivers. She talked about how it's always Lewis Hamilton who makes it a point to show his support for the series.
“It’s a little bit sad that it’s always Lewis," she said. "He’s always the one offering support, coming over, and really, because I think in the end, he knows what it’s like to be the only one and so he has an affinity."
"But there’s going to be the 10 F1 teams with their own livery, so I expect a lot more interaction from the F1 teams generally next season because they have the platforms, they have the voices and I think that’s something which will be hugely helpful because this is not a short-term project. If we want to see success, it’s got to be long term,” she added.
It should be noted that after the race on Sunday, Lewis Hamilton's teammate George Russell also attended the F1 Academy race.
