Daniel Ricciardo on the cover of Men's Health

There are people who can immediately heat a cool photo studio of a hundred square meters with a smile. 31-year-old Formula 1 driver Daniel Ricciardo is one of them.
At the stroke of an hour, agreed time, he enters the studio in Amsterdam. This is a man of the times, a man who is professionally dependent on hundredths of a second.

When we ask him how he got here, he replies dryly, 'With an Uber.' Not an impressive racecar? ‘No, I can't park here at all. I'm so bad at that. ‘ He shows us his that world famous smile again. That smile has made the Aussie one of Formula 1's public favorites. There are hundreds of videos online in which Ricciardo brightens up the sometimes extremely serious motorsport through the jokes and pranks he plays, for example with former teammate and ‘our’ Max Verstappen, with whom he raced in the Red Bull team until 2018.

Although the two drivers seemed inseparable off the track, the fighting on the track was tooth for a tooth. For example, the Baku Grand Prix in 2018 ended in a crash, as the two competitors ran into each other. Not long after, Ricciardo exchanges the Red Bull Racing Team for Renault, where he completes his last season this year. Next year, the Australian will take a shot at the podium with another team: McLaren.

Halfway through the Formula 1 season, we spoke to him about Renault, Verstappen, Disneyland and his bromance with kickboxer Rico Verhoeven. Ready, set, go.

Daniel Ricciardo x Men's Health interview

What do you think of the year 2020 so far?

‘It's been a terrible year for the world, but I'm doing pretty well. For the first time in thirteen years, I had the opportunity to spend a few months at home with my family in Australia. I am glad that we can race again and it is nice that some circuits have been put on the calendar that were originally not on it.’

What would you have done if the entire racing season had been canceled?

‘Then I would have built a kind of Disneyland on my farm in Australia. A kind of man's version of Disneyland, with a lot of motorbikes and cars. Ever since I was a child I dreamed of having a large piece of land, because your own rules apply there.’

Is the atmosphere in the paddocks different, now with the corona situation?

‘Oh, absolutely. There are no fans, but there is little interaction between the teams. Everyone stays a bit on their own territory. It's a bit less lively, a bit less chaotic. I miss that chaos sometimes. You actually never see some colleagues again, which in some cases is not so bad of course. Haha.’

Oh, tell us more?

‘Haha just kidding. I am very friendly.’

What makes you different from other drivers?

‘People mainly know me as that cheerful, energetic guy. I am too - from the outside. Inside is a very important motivation, namely that I had to leave everything behind to do this sport. In Australia, Formula 1 was not that big, so I had to go to Europe when I was seventeen to give my career a kickstart. I could have continued drinking and partying at home, but instead I was on the other side of the world. I didn't believe I could manage either, I wasn't the wonder boy who won all the races from a young age. I thought: if I can't win in Australia, how am I going to do it in Europe?

In the beginning I didn't feel quite at my place in Formula 1. For a while I thought I had to change my image. Act more intelligent, more serious. The more I became myself, the more successes I achieved. It kept getting better, and now I also have good friends on this continent.'

What does an average training week look like for you, in terms of cardio and strength training?

‘Suppose I don’t have to race for seven days, then I train six of them. Most days I do two sessions, one of those days I do only one session and one day I rest. We don't have to train to be a triathlete or marathon runner, but our basic fitness must be good. You sometimes sit in the car for two hours straight and your heart rate is very high. A good condition ensures better concentration so that you can make decisions faster. Your body must also be able to withstand the G-forces of the car, which can go up to 5 or 6 in turns. You must have a strong neck, core and glutes to keep the body in place in the car. On the other hand, we can't do too much strength training either, because we have to stay as light as possible. We are all skinny. Strong, but slim. We are agile and fast, but not strength athletes.'

Is boxing still a regular part of your workout routine?

‘Absolutely. It's a great way to stay in shape and clear your mind. I also did a lot of Brazilian jiu-jitsu until a few years ago, but I stopped because I almost got injured. Although I would like to learn, I cannot afford not to be able to race because of a hobby.'

Curious about the rest of the interview with Ricciardo? Read all about it in Men's Health November 2020, in stores now. Dutch and Belgian readers can order a copy online in the Men's Health online shop.