The boss of the fledgling US F1 team has said Danica Patrick is "too big" to drive for them.
Team boss says American star's high profile a bad fit with fledgling outfit
The boss of the fledgling US F1 team has said Danica Patrick is "too big" to drive for them.
The IndyCar racing star has long been linked with a seat at the new American team, one of three new outfits to be granted entry next season.
However, given Patrick's high profile in the United States, team boss Peter Windsor says he feels the 27-year-old would not be best placed in a team taking their first steps.
"A lot of people are saying to us, 'Are you interested in Danica?' And my reply is, in some respects, Danica is too big for us now," Windsor told
Sports Illustrated.
"She'll probably go to NASCAR, probably do very well there and she'll probably make a fortune.
"For her to do Formula One, it's a huge commitment at this stage of her career, and her expectation level would be very high.
"We're not going to be fighting for the world championship in year one.
"Reliability and driveability are going to be very important for us, just getting the car designed and built, and a new group working together as a team."
Windsor nevertheless remains determined to field American drivers, even though he realises they tend to ignore the more usual routes to F1.
"We need to make the effort to get Americans in our car. That was always our goal and it is still our goal," added Windsor.
"There are very good American drivers out there.
"To be honest, shame on Formula One and on American motorsport that some of these great young Americans with single-seater talent have not been nurtured more and given more opportunity.
"If they'd all been out there racing Formula Renault, Formula Three, GP2, we'd be in a different ballpark right now."
