Danica Patrick said on Thursday she had decided not to return to Sky Sports as an analyst for the upcoming Formula One season, which starts with this weekend’s Australian Grand Prix.
Patrick comes out of retirement to join the broadcast team in 2021, which includes IndyCar and NASCAR events. Sky confirmed her departure from the Sky broadcast team on Wednesday when she announced a line-up of Martin Brundle, Jenson Button, Nico Rosberg, Jacques Villeneuve, Naomi Schiff, Bernie Collins, Karen Chandhok, Jamie Chadwick and Anthony Davison.
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Patrick told The Associated Press on Thursday that she asked to leave at the end of last season.
“I called after last year’s season and said it was time to leave,” she told The Associated Press. “I feel that I have gained a wealth of experience in F1 and am ready to have more time to pursue other projects and interests.
“I was building a new company. I was also new to several boards with big plans and was very busy punishing myself by learning new sports like tennis, golf and skiing.”
Patrick emerged as an outspoken conservative and supporter of President Donald Trump during the last US election, leading many to speculate that her entry into politics was one of the reasons for her departure from the F1 broadcast team. F1 is a global sport, racing on five continents.
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She said she enjoyed her time in F1 and found the job demanding but rewarding. Patrick has also been a member of the Indianapolis 500 broadcast team for the past few years.
“I’ve had a great time with the Sky Sports team. They’re the reason I’ve stayed on for so long. It’s a lot of work – not just being a driver during the race weekends – in many ways – but especially in terms of the time commitment on the track,” she said. “However, as a team we made it fun. I also learned a lot about F1 and the drivers and became a bigger fan, so that was fun too.
“The sport of F1 is a lot of fun. My favorite part is the team principals. They understand the mission of a good TV show while obviously being incredible on the team operations side.”
Patrick began racing as a child and briefly pursued a career in Europe before returning to the United States to compete in single-seaters in the IndyCar Series. She made her debut in 2005 at the age of 23 and spent seven full seasons in the series, notably finishing third in the 2009 Indianapolis 500.
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Her single career IndyCar victory came in 2008 in Japan.
Patrick moved to NASCAR in 2012 and went winless in 191 starts. 2017 was her last full season as a race car driver, ending her driving career in 2018 with appearances in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500.
She left many marks on the track as the first woman to lead a lap in the Indianapolis 500, the highest-finishing female Indy 500 driver and the first woman to win the pole position in the Daytona 500 (she took the pole in 2013).
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AP Racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
