WATCH: Bills QB Josh Allen shares special moment with Daniel Ricciardo during Canadian GP’s broadcast
Daniel Ricciardo was at the Canadian GP today and Josh Allen was there to join him. The only wrinkle, though, was that the F1 driver did not know the NFL quarterback would be joining him.
It led to an adorable moment with the racer sitting there open-mouthed as the footballer joined him. Daniel Ricciardo finally recovered from that surprise saying:
"No way, Joshua, what's going on? You know what, even if we can't hear you, I don't mind, we can see you, you look great."
Daniel Ricciardo and Josh Allen's story goes back to Monaco
Daniel Ricciardo and Josh Allen struck up an unlikely friendship going back to the Monaco GP in 2019. They met on the track and it so happened that the racer's performance manager, Michael, had a Bills jersey. They got talking and found themselves to be kindred spirits. The F1 driver said, back in 2021,
“It’s been like step brothers. Somehow, we just became best friends. Just a flick of a finger. No, it was Monaco, right? Monaco 2019?”
The NFL star confirmed the mutual affection, saying:
“We’re talking, and he’s like we’re Buffalo Bills fans and they had jerseys, and I thought it was the weirdest thing.”
But the thing that has kept their bond strong goes beyond their personaltities. The F1 driver has become a proper Buffalo Bills fan. It started with the friendship but he said that he found the passion of the Bills mafia to be similar to his friends back home.
“My performance coach, Michael, actually had a Bills jersey and yeah, when we met Josh he was like alright, ‘Sold!’. And I mean the Bills Mafia really reminds me of a lot of my friends back home. I could definitely see I’d fit right into the Bills Mafia.”
Now, the brofest continues with the Canadian GP. While Buffalo itself is just across the Canadian border from Niagara, Josh Allen could only join from Los Angeles. Maybe they will have more of an opportunity to meet face to face soon.
However, given their intertwined histories now, it will be fascinating to see what happens if ever Josh Allen quits the Bills. One wonders if Daniel Ricciardo would then keep following the team in Buffalo or if he would go and support whichever team his friend plays on. Given his performances, however, that is a hypothetical that will not come to pass anytime soon.
For now, though, we can sit back and bask in the unlikely friendship these two sporting superstars seem to have formed.