After setting a couple of records, Danica Patrick, the most successful and popular female driver in the US, recently became the highest-finishing female driver in Nascar national series. With the 19th position in Saturday’s Nascar Nationwide Series stock-car race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, she finishes the season in 10th place overall. Sara Christian held the record since 1949 when she was the first woman driver in Nascar history. Christian’s finished 13th position in the standings.

Patrick’s overall performance in the Nascar was nothing to sneeze at. With the fourth place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2011, Patrick achieved the highest-finishing position for a female driver in a Nascar national series event.
For next year Patrick will make the next step into the Nascar Sprint Cup series to continue her previous success.

Ready for the Formula 1?

After the successful return of the Formula 1 to Austin the last weekend, where more than 100,000 spectators came to the race track, the boss of the Formula 1, Bernie Ecclestone, plans to have two more races in the US over the upcoming years. Ecclestone is convinced that an American driver on the grid would create a lot of interest for the sport. Since 2011 the F1 has been without an American driver, after Scott Speed left the Torro Rosso Team. What about Danica Patrick in the Formula 1? Bernie Ecclestone would be happy. One year ago he argued that it would be a perfect advert to have Danica Patrick in the Formula 1.

When Patrick was younger she had the dream to become a Formula 1 driver. She wanted to learn more about racing and came to England when she was 16 years old. After coming back to the States she felt more than happy to be back at home. Therefore, she preferred to stay at her home country. However, over the last years there have been many speculations about Patrick and the Formula 1. In 2008 Patrick had conversations with Honda, but it did not work out because of Honda’s pull out of the sport. In late 2009 there were speculations about test runs for the stillborn US F1 Team.

Maybe there is a chance to see Danica Patrick in Formula 1 someday. For the Formula 1 it would be a chance, not only for the American but also for the global motorsports market.

Her first Formula 1 test for Williams in October finished Susie Wolff's with a big grin. "Best day of my career, without a doubt!" Click on the video and watch the highlights of the test in Silverstone.

Step by Step Susie Wolff comes closer to her Formula 1 dream. Actually, dreaming is over, the reality is here. After signing a contract as a development driver with the Williams F1 Team in April 2012, Wolff had to complete several sessions in the team's simulator. Half a year later, on October 17, Wolff was ready for her first real Formula 1 test with the Williams F33 at the Silverstone circuit in the UK.

After seven years driving for Mercedes in the German Touring Car Masters (DTM), Wolff said good bye to the DTM after her last race in Hockenheim on October 21. Now she wants to fully concentrate on her position as a Formula 1 test driver for Williams and hopes to get more test opportunities.

The Williams F1 team gave her the chance to test an F1 car. After the tragic crash of the Marussia F1 test driver Maria de Villota in July, where de Villota lost her right eye, the Marussia F1 Team had to deal with severe accusations. The accident didn’t change Williams opinion, that a woman can drive a Formula 1 car.

Currently there are no other test runs planned. So what comes next for Wolff? Leaving racing is not an option. It’s rather a question of finding another challenge. What about other series? Probably she will get the chance to participate in the GT-Program for the SLS AMG. So far, nothing is official.

If Susie Wolff will remove the current drivers Bruno Senna or Pastor Maldonado someday is uncertain. It remains to be seen when or if she will be ready for a Formula 1 race. First of all, other tests should come soon to make her ready for the Formula 1 stage.