Daniel Ricciardo Proposes Fresh Terms on His Bet With Zak Brown After Monza F1 Win

The Italian Grand Prix produced several memorable moments which added more flavor to the ongoing F1 season. Among those moments, Daniel Ricciardo notching his first race win for McLaren features as one of, if not the most prominent.

Although he struggled more often than not this season, the Australian put all of that in the past with this win. While he scored McLaren’s first victory since 2012, a bet made between Ricciardo and CEO Zak Brown has been a subject of great interest. Recently, the Honey Badger suggested he could gain more from Brown by winning in Monza.

Daniel Ricciardo believes bet with Zak Brown could be altered

In recent seasons, the 32-year-old has made a reputation of placing bets with the team principal. During his days with Renault, Ricciardo and Cyril Abiteboul made a bet of their own. The bet demanded the latter get a tattoo if the Honey Badger scored a podium with the team.

Although he left it late, Ricciardo scored that elusive podium with the French outfit in last year’s Eifel Grand Prix. This year, he continued that trend by making a bet with Brown. The bet stated that should he score a podium finish, the McLaren CEO would organise for the Australian to drive his racing hero, Dale Earnhardt’s NASCAR Chevrolet.

Seeing that Ricciardo exceeded the conditions of the bet, he believed he could win Earnhardt’s car for life. He said, “I’m like, maybe getting a car. Because it was always a podium, you get to drive it – we never talked about a win! I gave him my shoe that he drank out of, so maybe he gives me the car. It’s a good trade!”

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Ricciardo honored to feature alongside McLaren great Ayrton Senna

By winning in Monza, Ricciardo became the 20th different race winner for the Woking-based outfit. He joined an illustrious list which includes Senna, of whom the Australian spoke highly of.

He said, “I’m sorry if I sound a bit self-absorbed right now, but I think McLaren, I think of Senna. That’s the early memories. I’ve seen the trophies in the cabinet at the MTC [McLaren Technology Centre], and to have a winning trophy now with my name in pretty much the same cabinet is crazy.”

Whether the 32-year-old receives Earnhardt’s car for longer than stated in the bet, remains to be seen. However, Ricciardo will hope his win in Monza becomes the turning point he needs in his debut season with McLaren.

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