Team bosses would welcome female driver in F1.

If they have the talent, why shouldn't women compete in the top flight, team chiefs assert.

Formula 1's team principals have said they would support the arrival of Danica Patrick in grand prix circles - should IndyCar's newest race-winner elect to follow her teenage dreams and switch across to the top flight in the years to come.

After triumphing in the Indy Japan 300 at Motegi last month, the 26-year-old from Wisconsin admitted that she had long hankered after competing in F1 - right back to the days when she raced in England, during which time she finished runner-up to a certain Anthony Davidson in the prestigious Formula Ford Festival in 2000 [see separate story - click here].

Though she has insisted she still has too much unfinished business in the IndyCar Series to make the move across the Pond just yet - clinching the crown being the principal objective - Patrick is clearly keen to be the first woman to participate in the uppermost echelon since Giovanna Amati attempted to qualify for Brabham back in 1992, before being replaced by then rookie Damon Hill. Amati's countrywoman Lella Lombardi became the only female racer ever to make the scoreboard in F1, notching up half a point for finishing sixth for March in the tragically shortened 1975 Spanish Grand Prix at Montjuich Park.

"We can all see the commercial attraction, how exciting it would be to have a female driver in Formula 1," commented Honda team principal Ross Brawn, with the Brackley-based outfit's CEO Nick Fry having already professed himself open to the possibility of granting Patrick - who races using Honda power with Andretti Green Racing - an F1 test.

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

Patrick initially made her name in the States by becoming first woman ever to lead the legendary Indianapolis 500 in 2005, and her subsequent Motegi success three weeks ago made her the first member of the fairer sex to win a major open-wheel race. Toyota motorsport president John Howett echoed Brawn's feelings that female drivers would be a positive addition to the F1 grid - provided they are genuinely competitive and not merely a token gesture.

Jenson Button had previously joked in an interview with men's lifestyle magazine FHM that: "A girl with big boobs would never be comfortable in the car, and the mechanics wouldn't concentrate. Can you imagine strapping her in? You wouldn't want to be on the circuit with them, would you?" The British star later apologised for his remarks [see separate story - click here].

"Why not?" Howett countered. "It would probably be very good. We just need to see a driver with the capability and who could deliver performance, because we are basically all focused on winning and track performance.

"I don't think there's any discrimination in terms of anything within our organisation or team, so if we could find a suitable driver, we would be delighted. We have young driver programmes, but unfortunately most of the guys coming into karting at the moment and delivering performance are male.

"I think it would probably be good [to have a female driver], but you would need someone who could be competitive. With Danica it shows it's possible for an extremely talented lady to be competitive in what is historically seen as a male environment. It probably opens people's eyes to the possibility of that happening."

Lewis Hamilton bucked the trend last year by becoming the first black driver ever to graduate to the top flight - undeniably boosting the sport's interest and popularity as it looks to make its presence felt in new markets worldwide, particularly in Asia - and the addition of a female driver would only serve to broaden that appeal further. Hamilton's McLaren-Mercedes squad handed fellow IndyCar driver Sarah Fisher a chance to test at Indy in 2002, and Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Vice-President Norbert Haug said there would be no gender barrier should a sufficiently talented female star wish to join the grid.

"I think the key is to be competitive," the German stressed. "In various sports it's not possible, but it should be basically possible in motorsport as the Indy Racing League has proven or as, for example, the DTM shows.

"We had a winner in touring cars years ago - many years ago, 16 years ago, I think - with Ellen Lohr beating her team-mate Keke Rosberg. That was not very pleasing for my friend Keke, but anyway, it is possible and hopefully Formula 1 will experience that in the future."