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Patrick success may boost women's chances

Formula One would welcome a winning female driver like Danica Patrick if she could show she was as competitive as the men, team bosses said on Friday

American Patrick last month became the first woman to win a race in the Indy Racing League (IRL) when she triumphed at Japan's Motegi Twin Ring circuit.

"I think it shows that it is possible for an extremely talented lady to be competitive in what is historically seen as a male environment," Toyota motorsport president John Howett said at the Turkish Grand Prix when asked about the 26-year-old's achievement.

"It probably opens people's eyes to the possibility of that happening."

Formula One has had several women drivers in the past but none have been rewarded on the track.

The most successful was Italian Leila Lombardi, who scored half a point when she finished sixth in the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at the wheel of a March. Half points were awarded because the race was cut short due to a fatal accident.

The last woman to try to enter a grand prix was Italian Giovanna Amati, who failed to qualify her Brabham in 1992.

"I think it probably would be very good," Howett said of the possibility of a woman F1 driver. "We just need to see a driver with the capability that could deliver performance.

"If we could find a suitable driver we'd be delighted. We have young driver programmes but unfortunately most of those who are coming into karting at the moment and are delivering performance are male."

Honda team principal Ross Brawn agreed: "We can all see the commercial attraction, how exciting it would be to have a female driver in Formula One," he said.

"I think the key thing is that they can be competitive, because it would be a shame if purely because they were a female driver they got put in the car and couldn't compete properly. If they could compete properly, it would be great."

Patrick already has a strong resume. In 2005, she became the first woman to lead a lap of the Indy 500 and finished fourth.

Last year's Indy 500 had three women racers, more than ever before, with Patrick joined by compatriot Sarah Fisher and Venezuelan Milka Duno.

While Fisher drove a McLaren Formula One car on an exhibition lap at Indianapolis before the 2002 U.S. Grand Prix, Patrick has said she would be interested only in a serious test.

Mercedes motorsport vice-president Norbert Haug saw no reason why women should not be as successful as the men.

"It's certainly not possible in soccer to compete against each other, it's not possible in various sports, but it should be in motorsports as Indy Racing League has proven and as DTM (German Touring Cars) has shown," he said.

"We had a winner in touring cars 16 years ago with Ellen Lohr beating her team mate (1982 Formula One world champion) Keke Rosberg, which was not very pleasing for my friend Keke," added Haug.

"Hopefully Formula One will experience that in the future."

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