"Don't dream it's over."

Race week at the Circuit Of The Americas. 2022, Austin, Texas. 

The sun was shining bright on the paddock and the air was filled with excitement and anticipation for the American Grand Prix that was unfolding. The drivers were doing all sorts of things, from attending media duties to training a bit more in order to be fully ready for the race on Sunday. 

Racing in the US has always been seen as something extravagant, compared to the other European races. The expectations are slightly higher, the sponsors’ attention on the drivers and teams is much more pressuring and the public simply expects somehow more from everyone on the grid and from behind the scenes. 

The American Grand Prix of 2022 wasn’t different. The drivers had flown in the States fully aware of the weekend that was ahead of them. All the media, the interviews, the questions asked, the right answers to give. Everything, every situation, made it seem like a person was walking on thin ice and any step could make them fall. 

And then, out of nowhere, to steal the show or maybe just to calm everyone’s nerves a little bit came Daniel Ricciardo, entering the paddock on horseback. 

What kind of reaction did that bring out of the spectators, you may ask. Well the answer is very very simple: a smile. Because that is exactly what Daniel Ricciardo does to people. He makes them smile. 

Since the first moment he set foot in the paddock, young and unprepared for all the challenges a world like Formula One can put you through, ‘Danny Ric’ has never failed to bring a smile to people’s faces. He immediately stole the hearts of journalists, F1 teams, other drivers and everyone else enthusiastic about this sport. 

It’s not that common to find someone like him. Someone so passionate about his job yet also loving and caring outside of it. Especially now, in the world we live in, it is very hard to come by someone so genuine and true like Daniel Ricciardo. 

It’s hard to find someone that can make drinking victory champagne out of a shoe after a race seem fun and something that makes you want to do it as well. 

It’s hard to find someone ready to sacrifice himself for the sake of the team and his teammate. 

But with Danny Ric it was never hard to come to know someone like this. 

His speech, the one that moved hundreds of thousands of people, proves exactly my point. 

In 2021 he recited one of the most heartfelt speeches I’ve ever heard in my entire life. It was only a message to his younger self, it was merely a media tool McLaren had made him do for their YouTube channel but little did Daniel know, he was about to change millions of people’s perspective on life. It sure changed mine when I moved to France for my studies as I’m sure it did to so many others. 

Danny helped me overcome my fears in a brand new country, he helped me see the good where sometimes I’d find it difficult to. With that speech he taught me to ‘enjoy the butterflies’ in any situation life would put me in. And all thanks to him, I experienced the best nine months of my life. 

Because this is what Daniel Ricciardo is to me, to everyone. He’s not “just” a Formula One driver. He is not just a legend in the sport. He is also a legend in people’s hearts. 

When he left, after the end of the 2022 season, the atmosphere in the paddock and on track was just different. It didn’t seem normal without him in it. It looked like there was something missing, a piece of the puzzle forgotten somewhere. We all know what that piece was; driver n.3 on the grid. Daniel Joseph Ricciardo.

Later on, when he reappeared in the middle of the 2023 season, it was like everything had gone back to the way it was supposed to be. 

In the course of the many years Danny has spent in the paddock, he’s brought so much to this sport. Even though one might argue that he didn’t achieve as many wins as other drivers, he did something else that no one managed to do on the grid. He became a crucial part of the sport. So much so that whenever you’d hear ‘Formula One’ you’d immediately think of his name too, regardless of the team or driver you support the most. 

And this is not something you can achieve so easily. 

“Singapore will be Daniel Ricciardo’s last race.” Words pronounced by Ralph Schumacher, right before the start of the week, that created an aura of sadness over the paddock. As the days went by, it seemed more and more like it was coming true and everyone was doing whatever they could to distract themselves from this frightening reality. 

Lando Norris stepped on the highest stoop of the podium that night, achieving his third win in Formula One but as his duties as race winner unfolded, there was someone who didn’t feel much like celebrating. Daniel admitted to an interviewer later on that he decided to stay in the cockpit a bit longer than the others, not wanting to climb out just yet.. From the onboard camera, we witnessed this moment as well and shared it with him. The way his shoulders were rising and falling, his hands fidgeting on his thighs, the visor still pulled down on his eyes. He made us feel everything. 

“The cockpit is something I got used to for many years so I just.. I just uh… I just wanted to, yeah, savour the moment.” He gave this answer with tears in his eyes. A saddened mirror of a flood of emotions and feelings all gathering and washing over him in a sudden realization that it was the end. 

That night Danny walked around the paddock till 2 am in the morning, wanting to say goodbye to everyone and to everything he knew as his home. The paddock has always welcomed him with open arms, never angry at him, not a bad comment thrown in his direction, nothing of the sort. What Danny saw every single time were smiles and compliments and true feelings that mirrored his love for the job, that has given him the spark to lit the match that was is his life.

He ended the race that night snatching away the point for Fastest Lap from former teammate and winner Lando Norris. 

“Thank you, Daniel!” Max said on the radio after he was given this information. We know it wasn’t just a ‘Thank you’ for that single point Daniel gifted his team. Max’s ‘Thank you’ was much deeper than that. He thanked his former teammate for all the years they’ve spent together, all the laughs, the highs and the lows as well. Just like two brothers. 

Daniel Ricciardo managed to create genuine bonds with the drivers. Something that is so so difficult to find in this sport. And he will be forever remembered for it. 

We don’t know what the future might hold for Danny Ric, our Honey Badger, but one thing we can proudly and heartfully say is that he made us enjoy the butterflies in ways we never thought it’d be possible. 

Thank You, Daniel.

Written by Fran