Daniel Ricciardo delivered the perfect response that melted hearts of Formula 1 fans during an appearance on late night TV in America.
The Aussie ace made a guest appearance on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show with the eight-time Grand Prix winner asked about the success of the sport, in particular the booming growth of Formula 1 in America.
As the gears in his mind raced over, Ricciardo put out the only response fans have come to expect from him over the years.
“I was going to say something serious, but I think ultimately it’s my good looks,” Ricciardo says as the audience went wild over the answer.
A slightly stunned Colbert responded: “I mean that’s pretty serious, that’s pretty serious too.”
Of course Ricciardo then went on to attribute the success of Formula 1 in America to the Netflix series Drive to Survive.
“Look I think the series blowing up, I think that’s put it on the map worldwide,” he said.
“It’s about to go into season five which is pretty wild.
“There’s parts of the world where it has always been big. In Europe Formula 1 has always existed for many, many years and there’s always been a core following there.
“In the States I feel like it was inevitable to blow up here because you do sports so well, it was just a matter of time but I feel it accelerated through this series.”
Ricciardo won’t be on the grid in 2023 after McLaren decided to part ways with the Aussie star in favour of rising Aussie Oscar Piastri.
The 33-year-old has endured a torrid four seasons after shocking the F1 community when he departed Red Bull at the end of 2018.
He has now returned to his former team in a reserve driver role he will share with Kiwi youngster Liam Lawson.
The move away from a full-time drive is widely seen as a step backwards for the West Australian and there’s every chance he could struggle to get back on the grid in the future.
Speaking on the Beyond the Grid podcast recently, Ricciardo said he was relieved Red Bull, Mercedes or Ferrari didn’t offer him a full-time drive he would have felt obliged to accept when his heart wasn’t in it for 2023.
“There was a couple of times where (Ferrari) was linked. Guenther (Steiner, Haas team principal) reached out,” Ricciardo said.
“The more days that passed and, especially as I did the triple-header to get back into the second half of the season – so three races on the bounce – it became more and more clear that it wasn’t about what phone call I was receiving; it was about me acknowledging that I just ultimately don’t want to be competing next year.
“So, in a way I am glad that, let’s say, a top team didn’t reach out, because it’s one of those ones where you probably feel, ‘Oh, I’ve got to sign it’, but I think deep down I was just craving a bit of distance.”
Ricciardo has been open about feeling burnt out after his struggles at McLaren and he hopes a year away from the weekly grind of F1 will benefit his mental health revitalise his love for the sport.
“You could call it some burnout, but I’m not afraid to admit that or say that,” he said.
“And it’s one of those ones where everyone will have an opinion and this and that, but it’s ultimately that I know what I feel, I know what I want. It was some of that.
“And I feel very … I don’t want to say that I’m the only driver that feels this way, but I would say that I’m not the normal sportsman where I kind of just use ‘practice makes perfect’.
“The more I do sometimes, the more I’m just like getting kind of lost in it, where I kind of feel like the power of a break for me, some time off, I could come back better. I know for me that could actually be really good.”
The 2023 F1 season gets underway at the Bahrain Grand Prix on March 5.
Red Bull are set to launch their car for the 2023 season on February 4 in New York.
