(Nascar.com)
Haas Formula founder Gene Haas has said that he feels that his NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Danica Patrick would be a fantastic candidate for his new American based Formula One team which will make it's debut in the sport in 2015.
Patrick currently drives for the Stewart Haas Racing in NASCAR and Haas believes that having Patrick in Formula One would be great for both his team and for Formula One. Patrick has plenty of experience in open wheel racing having started her racing career in Europe and competed in the American IndyCar Series from 2005 to 2011 before moving to NASCAR.
In 2008, Danica became the first female racing driver to win a major open wheel race when she won the Indy Japan 300 for Andretti Autosport.
In 2009, Patrick scored her best ever result at the Brickyard when she finished in third place at the Indianapolis 500 just behind winner Helio Castroneves and Dan Wheldon.
Although Haas believes it would be great to see Patrick in his Formula One team he feels that it is unlikely that she will race in Formula One but it is a case of wait and see what happens. If Patrick was to race in Formula One in 2016, she would become the first American female driver to race in F1.
Patrick has always said that she would only consider Formula One if she was racing in a competitive car that could challenge for Grand Prix victories. Patrick is extremely popular among American racing fans and this would be extremely beneficial to Formula One as the sport aims to make it big in the States and to have a driver of Danica's talent would come as a major boost for Formula One both in the USA and worldwide.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens within the next few months in relation to Haas' F1 fans. Speaking at the Canadian Grand Prix at the weekend Haas revealed that the building for the new F1 outfit is nearly complete and that he never considered approaching either the Lotus F1 Team or the Caterham F1 Team over a buyout.
© Ben Johnston 2014
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