Danica Patrick faced calls to be fired from other job before Indy 500 outfit drama

Former NASCAR star Danica Patrick has received backlash multiple times during her time as a pundit.

The 43-year-old remains the only woman to have won an IndyCar Series race and also offers her insights on the F1 season.

Despite her motorsport legacy, she has been criticised for sharing her political views away from the grid and expressing her doubts that a female driver could compete in F1.

As co-host at the Indy 500 last weekend, Patrick was at the centre of another social media storm after wearing a controversial outfit on FOX Sports which divided viewers.

• Danica Patrick trades Indy 500 outfit to send political message after FOX demand
• Dad makes friend dig own grave and kill himself after raping his daughter, six

However, it is not the first time the NASCAR legend has caused a stir among fans.

During the Indy 500, Patrick donned a ‘Make America Great Again’ hat to show her support for President Donald Trump.

Regarding her political views, she spoke at a rally during Trump’s election campaign and also criticised Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's outfit during a White House meeting. Patrick’s public support of President Trump is partly why she is viewed as a divisive figure.

Earlier this month, the NASCAR icon made her first appearance of the current F1 season on Sky Sports. Patrick has worked with the broadcaster since October 2021, particularly on U.S. races, and was in attendance for the recent Miami Grand Prix, but her return was not universally welcome.

On X, one F1 fan wrote: "WHY THE F--- IS DANICA PATRICK ON MY TV SCREEN. Read the f------ room. No one values her opinion." A second said: “I'm so glad everyone hates seeing Danica Patrick on our TV screens, she provides nothing, and even to the point that her colleagues don't seem to like it.”

A third posted: "Dear Sky Sports, get Danica Patrick off your coverage. No one wants to see her or hear her views. Such a turn-off."

Patrick confessed that wading into political discourse has had some consequences in her personal life. "When you get into politics, you know you're going to lose half of your friends. Maybe half of my followers too, you never know,” she explained.

"Definitely, when I post some stuff about politics, you see some dropping due to that. But then you get some back because that's how it works... I'd say the same thing works with friends. You know, you'll drop some friends but then you're gonna pick some up too because you're going to find more of your people. And it's going to make you happier anyway."

Some Sky Sports viewers were unhappy that Patrick would remain part of the broadcast team for the 2025 season, while former F1 champion Damon Hill had left his role after 13 years. The NASCAR legend previously voiced her controversial thoughts on the W Series' and F1 Academy’s ambition to include a female driver in F1.

"Well, you're assuming I want that, you're assuming that is important to me, and it's not,” Patrick stated in August 2023. "It's always an interesting stance I have on it. I think that what makes the sport really popular is great racing - you can have half the field out there women and have it be follow the leader, and it's not going to be interesting to watch.

"Good racing, and that's what we have so much of these days in Formula 1, I mean pretty much everything other than Max is a toss-up for who's going to be second, third, fourth, fifth that weekend, and so that's what makes it really appealing. And so I think, as someone who obviously was a girl, you've just got to come up like normal."

A month earlier, she had shared her reasoning while in conversation with an aspiring F1 driver. "I think that the nature of the sport is masculine. It's aggressive,” Patrick explained.

"You have to, you know, handle the car – not only just the car because that's skill, but the mindset that it takes to be really good is something that's not normal in a feminine mind, a female mind."