Daniel Ricciardo reveals origin of iconic 'honey badger' nickname

Daniel Ricciardo has revealed the origin behind the nickname 'honey badger', which he donned throughout his career in F1. Ricciardo joined the F1 grid midway through the 2011 campaign with the backmarker HRT team before spending two years at Toro Rosso. The Australian achieved a bulk of his F1 success at Red Bull from 2014 to 2018 where he fashioned himself into one of the most exciting drivers on the grid with his daring overtakes. During that time, he was frequently referred to as the 'honey badger', named after a mammal that famously showcases little fear against predators. Ricciardo stated the personality of the honey badger mirrored how he conducted himself behind the wheel. "Honey badgers are cuddly and cute, super good-looking," Ricciardo laughed while speaking at Ray White's Connect conference. "But when something takes what's theirs, they fight back, and I think that was sort of like my alter ego when I got behind the wheel." Ricciardo has not raced in F1 since parting ways with the Racing Bulls team after last year's Singapore Grand Prix. Reflecting on his early days as a racer and his journey to becoming a household F1 name, Ricciardo credited a former trainer for uncovering a method to bring out his "killer instinct" while inside the car. "I have had a competitor in me since when I was a kid; I was always competitive in everything I did," he said. "But the killer instinct I needed to develop and work on extracting it out of myself. I'm naturally more easy-going. "One of my first trainers at the time, Stu Smith, he really brought it out of me. I did have to work at it, but when I let it out it did feel nice – it's nice to be a badass sometimes. "I would use too much energy trying to be tough all the time because it's not natural for me. I would see other drivers who had that killer instinct from morning to night and I wished I could be like them. "I think people would see me laughing and joking, and they would see that as weakness and underestimate me. But I would put the helmet on and think, 'Okay, now it's time to be tough like the others'."