F1 Community Rages at Danica Patrick’s Return as Sky Sports Snubs Ex-World Champ for Her

Former IndyCar and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick was on a sabbatical from her broadcasting duties for the Formula 1 races. But she was seen back in action with Formula 1 returning to North America. The race in Austin, Texas, was her first appearance with Sky Sports after the long break, followed by her presence at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Now that the Formula 1 paddock has returned to Sin City, Danica Patrick is once again on the Sky Sports broadcaster’s line-up. The official social media handle of Sky Sports shared the visuals of the broadcasting team for the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Martin Brundle, Simon Lazenby, and Danica were seen enjoying the scenic view of the city from an airplane.
“Is that the Hoover Dam?!” 🌊Martin, Danica, and Simon taking the scenic route to the Vegas track ✈” Sky Sports shared the promotional post about the race. Although Danica Patrick has made a name for herself racing in North America, the fans don’t receive her well. Be it from NASCAR or the IndyCar. Patrick is infamous for stirring up controversies, and this is one of the major reasons why fans dislike her.
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Therefore, when Sky Sports dropped the promotional video, fans were quick to share their opinion on Danica’s inclusion in the presenter’s lineup. What further enraged the fans was the fact that former F1 driver and reputed broadcaster Damon Hill was snubbed while Patrick found her spot.
Fans threaten to boycott watching the Vegas race because of Danica Patrick
Last year the Lad Vegas race was being aired on the ESPN network and had a rather odd start timing to aid the European fans. But despite an early morning start time, the event garnered a good viewership of 1.32 million views. However, Danica making her return for another F1 race with Sky isn’t something this fan is looking forward to. Making a bold prediction with the threat of not watching the race on Sky, the fan wrote this on X, “Danica = not watching.”
The media landscape has certainly changed in the past decade or so. With the growth of streaming networks, young fans in general are attracted to watching live sports with easy internet access. Although Danica is going to be on Sky Sports, this fan has found an alternative to ditch her presence and enjoy F1 racing. “Danica is the worst. Glad I re-upped my F1 TV so I no longer need to watch her.” The F1 TV Pro allows the fans to stream the races along with exclusive insights about the race.
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Usually, the presenters and announcers have a contract signed by the media company that allows them to feature in sporting events. Of course, the feedback and audience response are the crucial factors that determine the line-up. But despite the constant peppering, Danica somehow bags a new gig, but how come this is possible? Well, this user on X just might have an answer for that, “I assume Patrick must have a contract or something that you guys have to honour, I’ve never seen a media company stick by such a blatantly awful pundit, that brings no extra insight or value to the company and only serves to be controversial, but not in a remotely relevant way.”
Apart from Damon Hill, it looks like Martin Brundle is also on his way out of the Sky Network to present F1 races from next year. This trend of the network snubbing former drivers and industry veterans got this fan fuming. In response, the race fan wrote, “@SkySportsF1 losing of Damon Hill and retaining Danica Patrick is absolute madness. Hill the 1996 #Formula1 World Champion, with 115 Grand Prix starts, 22 race wins, 42 podiums, 20 pole positions & 19 fastest laps. Vs Danica Patrick with 0 F1 entries. Make it make sense.”
Now it is indeed hard to imagine fans not tuning in to watch a race just because they dislike a presenter. Well, as baffling as it might sound, there are a few staunch Danica Patrick haters who would rather watch the race highlights over the live broadcast feat. “…aaand one of those is the reason I’ll be watching C4F1 highlights. 👍”
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What are your plans for the Las Vegas F1 weekend? And what are your thoughts about Danica Patrick being featured on the Sky Sports roster? Do let us know in the comments.