Danica Patrick to F1's Bernie Ecclestone: No, but thanks

By Nate Ryan, USA TODAY Sports | USATODAY

BRISTOL, Tenn. – Danica Patrick politely rebuffed Bernie Ecclestone's suggestion she race in his series but also seemed amused by the courtship of the Formula One honcho, who infamously disparaged her eight years ago.

"I did see Bernie's comments; they sounded complimentary," Patrick said Friday morning at Bristol Motor Speedway. "It looked like he was kind of acknowledging my ability to drive a car. So, that was kind."

In an interview on the F1 website in advance of this weekend's season opener at Australia, Ecclestone was asked whether Formula One would have a female driver on par with Patrick within a few years. Ecclestone said he thought the series had the appeal to lure Patrick from the Sprint Cup Series.

"There should be no reason why not, providing that we find a team to take her," he told the website. "Danica would be good to have with one of the teams now. All the things that people worry about -- whether a woman can cope with the G-forces and all that -- she has proven that she can. She's been there and done it. What I think -- and I cannot blame her for it -- is that she will hardly want to give up the exposure she has in the U.S. to come here and maybe not make it."

Indeed, Patrick, who recently became the first woman to win a Sprint Cup pole position and the first to lead the Daytona 500, said she wouldn't test a car unless she was serious about making the switch from NASCAR's premier series, where she is three races into her rookie season.

"Honestly, I've always said that unless it would be something that I'd want to do for real, as in race a Formula One car, I don't see any point in testing it," said Patrick, who raced in a Formula One ladder series in Europe before entering the Izod IndyCar Series in 2005. "It's a lot of work to get fitted in the car comfortable enough to be able to go drive it. Then as a driver, for me at least, I run the risk of 'What if it doesn't go well?' Then people judge me for that. Unless it was something I was really serious, I wouldn't do."

It's nothing personal, even though Ecclestone said in 2005 that "women should be all dressed in white like all other domestic appliances" when asked about Patrick becoming the first female driver to lead the Indianapolis 500. He later repeated the comment in a phone call to Patrick that apparently was intended as an apology.

Patrick said Friday that Ecclestone since has become a big supporter over the years.

"Bernie has actually sent a lot of messages," she said. "Any kind of big high point that happens in my career, whether it be at Indy or Daytona now, or winning in Japan (in IndyCar). He even sent me a big picture signed by him one time. He's actually been really nice. I don't necessarily think that his comments a long while back are representative of maybe his opinion of me."

She still gets a kick out of it, though.

"I tell you what: I do love domestic appliances," she said. "I love to cook. I love to be in the kitchen. So that's flattering. Those utensils are very important in my life."

Follow Nate Ryan on Twitter @nateryan