“Women still cooked and cleaned”: When Danica Patrick recalled her experiences in the UK

Former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick once shed light on her experience racing in the United Kingdom and the stereotypes she faced during her stint.

Having found fame across multiple disciplines of the American racing scene, Patrick remains one of the most successful female drivers of all time. However, before finding success in the United States, she plied her trade in Europe, particularly the UK.

In 1998, at just 16, Patrick dropped out of high school with her parents' permission and moved to the UK to further her career. She competed in Formula Vauxhall and Formula Ford, two key stepping stones for young drivers aiming for Formula 1.

In an interview with The Times back in 2010, Patrick revealed her experience living in the UK:

"I wasn’t going to be a go-kart driver forever. As soon I was old enough to race cars, I took it to the next level. I was told that I could learn more in a year in the UK than I could in five years in the United States."

She described how traditional gender roles were still prevalent during her time there:

"It felt much more old-school over there [in Britain], though. Women still cooked and cleaned. I feel the women’s movement happened a little faster over here [in the US].

"I remember I was the quickest one day in practice, and one of the team owners I drove for couldn’t believe it. To the male drivers he was like, ‘She’s the quickest – what are you doing? Get out there, go!’ as if it wasn’t okay to be slower than me. He would tell his wife to fetch him beers."

Patrick returned to the United States in 2001 due to a lack of funding.

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What were Danica Patrick's controversial views in 2023 that drew negative attention?

Danica Patrick has faced criticism for some of her views on women in motorsports. At the 2023 Hungarian Grand Prix, she joined a teen-led F1 broadcast for Sky Sports, where she was asked if she believed a woman could soon compete in Formula 1. She responded:

"At the end of the day, I think that the nature of the sport is masculine. It’s aggressive. You have to, you know, handle the car — not only just the car, because that’s a skill, but the mindset that it takes to be really good is something that’s not normal in a feminine mind, in a female mind.

“You have to be, like, for me, I know if somebody tries to bow up or make it difficult on me, I would go into like an aggressive kill mode, right? You just want to go after them, and that’s just not a natural feminine thought. I say that because I’ve asked my friends about it, and they’re like, ‘Yeah, that’s not how I think.'"

Danica Patrick retired from motorsports in 2018. She has since pursued a career in broadcasting.