Daniel Ricciardo may not be behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car at the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend but he can’t stay away from the cameras - or the headlines.
The 33-year-old Australian, an F1 veteran who is Red Bull’s reserve driver this season, was seen engaging insome pit lane high jinks with Mercedes’ George Russell during practice at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve yesterday.
The first practice session was cancelled after only a few minutes due to a problem with CCTV cameras, before Ricciardo - who was in the pit lane with his Red Bull team - flipped the bird at Russell, who was parked nearby.
The British driver took it in his stride, jokingly calling for an investigation afterward.
“There was a rogue Australian fan in the pit lane as well at some point,” Russell told F1TV.
“I don’t know what it was, he stuck his finger up on me or something when I was waiting to go out. It was around the Red Bull area, they need to check the video and see if an investigation should go into this.”
The incident had fans in stitches, with one supporter on social media calling it “peak Australian”.
Ricciardo is well-known for being one of the sport’s biggest larrikins and is a crowd favourite of the hit Netflix series Drive to Survive.
He was dumped by McLaren at the end of last season before joining the defending champions as a backup for Max Verstappen and Sergio Perez.
Ricciardo and actor Will Arnett will be in the commentary box for ESPN during the Canadian Grand Prix, with the eight-time race winner saying his stint behind the microphone “is going to be a hoot.”
“As you’d expect Will and I are going to have some fun with the show, but we’re hoping it just feels like you’re watching F1 with your mates,” he said.
“We will have some amazing guests, plenty of laughs and with some luck, bring fans another step closer to the sport I love so much. Buckle up America!”
Daniel Ricciardo lost his seat at McLaren at the conclusion of the 2022 season. Photo / Getty Images
Red Bull are 135 points ahead of second-placed Mercedes in the constructors’ championship with seven wins and 11 podium finishes ahead of tomorrow’s Grand Prix.
Verstappen (170 points) leads the drivers’ championship by 53 points from Perez, followed by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso (99), Lewis Hamilton of Mercedes (87) and Russell (65).
