Danica Patrick reveals why Donald Trump will get her first-ever vote

Danica Patrick has found herself in the midst of controversy by voicing her support for "endearing" Donald Trump just days after appearing as a Sky Sports F1 pundit at the U.S. Grand Prix

Sky Sports F1 pundit Danica Patrick has revealed she will vote for Donald Trump in the upcoming US Presidential Elections because he is the “rational and reasonable choice”.

The former NASCAR driver admitted on Fox News that she has never voted before - but will make an exception on November 5 in the hope that Trump becomes president again. Patrick, 42, had returned to the Formula One paddock over the weekend for coverage of the U.S. Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Her involvement as a Sky Sports pundit brought to attention her controversial past opinions, which resulted in widespread social media backlash from fans who claimed her beliefs did not align with those of the broadcaster or the sport more widely.

Patrick's reappearance in Austin came after rumours emerged that she was dismissed by the broadcaster, only to be debunked soon after. And she has now divided fans further by voicing her support for Trump and listing his “endearing” qualities.

She told news host Jesse Watters on Monday: "It feels like voting for Donald Trump is like the vote of reason. It’s like the rational, reasonable choice," Patrick told Watters. She added that she doesn't understand why ‘MAGA’ - Trump's slogan of ‘Make America Great Again’, is considered an insult by some.”

Patrick added: "There is a difference definitely between the way that men and women are voting, and I think maybe one of the reasons why women are having a harder time with the vote is just his personality.

"That’s the most common answer you hear from people. ‘I just can’t vote for him.’ I don’t think that’s a good enough reason. You don’t have to go to dinner with him. You just have to like the country that you live in."

Commenting on Trump’s surprise appearance as a McDonald’s server this week, the former race car driver said: "I think that he has a great sense of humour. I think that he is a man amongst the people. I feel like when you wrap that up with the humility that he has, the sense of humour that he has, the off-the-cuff confidence that he has.

“His ability to go so unscripted and be in so many scenarios where he has to essentially be himself, it’s pretty much all of them. That’s not just something you see from the other side, which I think is one of the most endearing and important qualities about him is that he is just being him."

Mirror Sport has since reached out to Sky Sports for comment.

Patrick, who is the only woman in history to win an IndyCar Series race, admitted she is not proud of never having voted previously. She said she did not have the time or energy to “understand” politics until she began watching the news at the start of this year.

It is not the first time the F1 pundit has given her thoughts on highly-contentious topics, which include climate change and women drivers in the sport. When asked last year about the importance of introducing a female driver to F1, she controversially said: "Well, you're assuming I want that, you're assuming that is important to me, and it's not.

"It's always an interesting stance I have on it. I think that what makes the sport really popular is great racing - you can have half the field out there women and have it be follow the leader, and it's not going to be interesting to watch.

"Good racing, and that's what we have so much of these days in Formula 1, I mean pretty much everything other than Max is a toss-up for who's going to be second, third, fourth, fifth that weekend, and so that's what makes it really appealing. And so I think, as someone who obviously was a girl, you've just got to come up like normal."

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