When Daniel Ricciardo showed the middle finger to a fan who questioned him how a Lewis Hamilton rear wing looked like
Daniel Ricciardo once jokingly showed a middle finger to a fan on Top Gear when they asked what the back of Lewis Hamilton's car looked like. This was a subtle dig at Ricciardo by the fan, back when the British driver dominated the sport.
In 2015, Ricciardo was invited to the renowned car TV show, Top Gear, which was hosted by Jeremy Clarkson. The Aussie featured on the third episode of the 22nd season of the show, where he was interviewed and drove a Suzuki Liana around the show's track.
During this time, Daniel Ricciardo was in his second year with Red Bull and was competing with some of the best drivers at the time, including multiple-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton.
In the Top Gear interview, Jeremy Clarkson talked about how many F1 fans were watching the show live and asked whether they had any questions for Ricciardo. To everyone's surprise, one fan asked:
"What does the back of Lewis's car looked like?"
Many fans, including Clarkson, started laughing. Even Daniel Ricciardo chuckled and then immediately raised his hand to show a middle finger to the fan, saying:
"Can you see that?"
After seeing the Red Bull driver's response, the crowd and the host laughed even harder.
In that episode, Daniel Ricciardo broke Lewis Hamilton's fastest lap record in Top Gear's Star in a Reasonably Priced Car feature. The Australian drove the Suzuki Liana and clocked a 1:42.2, while Hamilton finished the lap in 1:42.9 in a previous episode.
In F1, however, Daniel Ricciardo had a subpar performance with Red Bull. He only managed to finish eighth in the 2015 F1 drivers' championship table while his teammate, Sebastian Vettel, was in P3. Meanwhile, Lewis Hamilton won his third world championship that year.
Both drivers continued to compete against each other in the coming years. However, Ricciardo experienced a gradual downfall in his career, especially after he left Red Bull.
He recently left F1 after he rejoined Red Bull's camp but was removed from their B team, Racing Bulls (RB).
Lewis Hamilton's heartfelt message to Daniel Ricciardo after the Australian left F1
After Daniel Ricciardo was removed from RB following the 2024 F1 Singapore GP, Lewis Hamilton posted a heartfelt message, bidding farewell to the Australian.
The seven-time world champion posted several pictures of them together on Instagram and talked about their time competing against each other in F1. Hamilton wrote that he would never forget the battles and the celebrations he enjoyed with Ricciardo.
"@danielricciardo it’s been a honour to compete with you over the years. I’ll never forget the battles, the laughs, and drinking out of your shoe. It was gross, but glad I got to do it with you bud," Hamilton wrote.
"You leave a legacy of always being yourself, which in this sport is never easy. You’ve taken it all with the biggest smile and I salute you for it. There is so much more for you up ahead and I can’t wait to see what you do next. Always here for you, man," he added.
Daniel Ricciardo leaves F1 after scoring a total of 1329 points, 32 podiums, and eight Grand Prix wins. Unfortunately, he was unable to win a single world championship in his F1 career between 2011 and 2024.