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During the US GP in Austin, Texas, former NASCAR driver Danica Patrick stated that she thinks there are no female drivers who are "good enough" to compete in Formula One in the near future.
Danica Patrick is often seen around the F1 paddock during live commentary during races. During the course of the weekend, Patrick spoke about Formula One's popularity in the United States. She also gave her opinions on whether or not a female driver would join the Formula One team.
In Austin, the inaugural title for the F1 Academy was decided. Marta Garcia clinched her first-ever title.
When asked if Patrick thought there would be a female driver joining the sport, she said:
"In the near future, probably not. But I’m sure eventually there will be." (via awfulannouncing.com)
When asked to elaborate on what "near future" meant, she said:
"The next two years, maybe three to five years. I’m not sure. But maybe sometime after that. Maybe in 20 years."
She also stated that F1 Academy is on its journey to get more female fans interested in motorsports, but she isn't sure if it will help a female driver enter Formula One.
She stated that the journey to Formula One has many more intricate steps. No driver can go straight from F1 Academy to Formula One. It's a long process where the drivers need to learn a lot before even getting to drive an F1 car.
Danica Patrick explains why NASCAR ratings have gone down in recent times
Danica Patrick is one of the most notable names in NASCAR. She recently pointed out why NASCAR ratings are going down and the sport is unable to hold people's attention.
She stated that NASCAR races are "too long" and fans are not able to pay attention to the races.
She said (via awfulannouncing.com):
"I sat down actually with one really important person within NASCAR… one of the things I said was, ‘the races are way, way too long."
She continued:
“People’s consuming habits change… because people can’t keep their attention span long enough. So, when you’re asking them to sit in front of a television for five or six hours, with pre-race and the race and everything, that’s a lot of time to expect someone to be attentive.”
She also pointed out that due to the rise of Formula One in the United States, NASCAR ratings are going down.
