- 17 Jun 08, 16:05#49583From F1 Live:
Nick Fry has clarified reports that said Danica Patrick, a high-profile female competitor of America's IndyCar Series, is set to make her F1 test debut for the Honda team.
It was reported earlier this month that the 26-year-old is likely to climb aboard the RA108 challenger in November at the Spanish winter test circuits Barcelona or Jerez.
But to the virtual magazine GPWeek, the Brackley-based team's Chief Executive Fry says the truth has been 'exaggerated' by the press.
"What we actually said was that if Danica wants to have a drive in our car at the end of the season, we'd be very open to the idea," the Briton clarified.
"But just to make it very clear, there has been no request thus far from Danica.
"If she would like to, we'd be very happy for her to drive the car. The door is open if she's interested," he added.
Fry also insists that, contrary to speculation that the test would be purely promotional, Patrick would be in the running for a competitive position should she take up the offer of a Honda test. "These things are too expensive just to run for a bit of fun," he said.
"With an intensely competitive person, they want to be doing it for a purpose."
Fry said more than one test for Patrick, who tips the scales at a petite 45kg, would be the best option.
"I would say that the first step for both of us would be for her to find out what it's like, and what our team's like, and secondly for us to get a fix on how good someone is.
"A single test is probably not enough to do that. Normally what we find, even with somebody with a lot of experience in motorsport, doing two tests is the best thing because the first day is all about understanding the car and the systems, the g-forces and the braking forces.
"So a first day of exploration and a second day of getting down to business is frequently a better way of doing things," Fry added.
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