Danica Patrick causes a stir with another Indy 500 outfit choice | F1 | Sport

Former NASCAR and IndyCar Series driver Danica Patrick has once more found herself at the centre of controversy regarding her outfit selection at Sunday’s Indy 500 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Last year, Patrick faced criticism from fans for wearing a black-and-white one-shoulder dress at the event, where she formed part of FOX Sports’ race coverage.

This year, she chose another one-shoulder dress, this time in red, and the social media backlash was immediate and comparable in tone. The former racing driver had momentarily won fans over with a tribute to Kyle Busch ahead of the Indy 500, but her outfit still attracted remarks.

Having dismissed last year’s criticism with an Instagram post, Patrick seems unperturbed and may well respond in the same manner once more.

On Sunday, Patrick’s red dress selection sparked a fresh wave of angry responses. “Danica Patrick vying for the Ashley Judd worst dressed ever at the Indy 500 award,” one fan commented on X.

“I’ve been a fan of Danica since the Letterman days. Why does she have to dress so ridiculously? Doesn’t she have anyone in her life to say ‘that’s really over the top for race coverage?'” another user wrote.

“Danica Patrick looks ridiculous. She’s dressed like she’s going clubbing instead of the Indy 500,” a third wrote.

Two further motorsports enthusiasts even claimed they switched off their televisions the moment they spotted her, choosing to give the Indy 500 on FOX a miss entirely.

“I turned my TV off as soon as I saw Danica Patrick,” one viewer wrote, while another chimed in with: “Turned the TV on to Danica Patrick… yikes.”

Following comparable backlash the previous year, Patrick hit back at online trolls with a tongue-in-cheek Instagram post. She uploaded a photograph of her race-day ensemble, captioning it: “Since I was behind a desk for the broadcast yesterday….”

Despite the considerable attention surrounding Patrick’s wardrobe, it did little to detract from the thrilling action at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The motorsports community also paid its respects to Busch both before and during the race, grieving his sudden passing.

“I think that we’re all just shocked. We’re sad,” Patrick said. “I feel like it hasn’t even hit. It’s just something that no one expected. When I first heard something was wrong, I thought he was driving something, but it was something completely different.”