Katherine Legge I’m no crash test dummy

When Bernie Ecclestone answered a telephone call from someone identifying herself as Katherine Legge, the godfather of Formula 1 responded with instant recognition. "Oh, the lady who crashed an F1 car," he declared.

That's pretty much how the rest of the world views the English woman, except that the rest of the world is thinking of a different accident. The one in which her car disintegrated all over the track and all over the pan continental news bulletins; the one where she was lucky to escape with her life never mind a few scratches.

Not the one where she smashed up a Minardi just four laps into a Formula 1 test drive.

"I do not think F1 will hold that test against me," Legge said. "It was a lack of experience and a lack of knowing about the systems. A lot of people start the way I did. I redeemed myself by going fastest the second day."

Normally, the career prospects would not be good for a racing car driver who is remembered for a crash and nothing else. Two crashes and you can forget about it.

Except that at least in the case of the dramatic accident broadcast across the world it positively enhanced her chances of future employment.

"It has been good for my career because lots of people now know who I am and that is always a plus," Legge told Sportsmail. More at Daily Mail