Daniel Ricciardo Turns into Farm Hand During the Coronavirus Lockdown

With the coronavirus pandemic sweeping across the globe, Formula One took a massive hit. Additionally, all drivers have to find alternate means to while away the days until they can finally hop into an F1 car. Among them is Renault driver Daniel Ricciardo, who is spending some time at his family farm.

Ricciardo is one of millions of Australians cooped up at home, though he is mostly passing the time on his parents’ farm. He recently posted a video on Instagram, of himself swapping his Renault F1 car for a tractor.

In a live Q&A video on Renault’s Instagram feed, he opened up on his life as a farm boy in Australia. He said, “Dad’s livelihood is earth moving so he has driven those pretty much his whole life. That’s his business. They prepare all the land to build house, and levels and stuff like that.

“They had a spare on the side, it’s a bit of an older one but they leave it on the farm so I can build things and be a kid. I’ll do training and whatever and then I’m not training every hour of the day, when I’ve got some free time I get on that. It’s pretty fun.”

What else is Daniel Ricciardo doing in his free time?

The Perth native also confessed that when he is not training, he normally indulges in Netflix or star-gazing. According to him, training helps him maintain a competitive mindset and gets him in the zone on several occasions.

Daniel Ricciardo stressed on the need to stay fit. This is crucial since people are forced to stay in for their own safety. He predicted that once the COVID-19 threat is neutralised, drivers and many others may emerge fitter than usual.

Like most sportspeople, Ricciardo and his contemporaries are hoping to begin racing soon. What does not help matters is the fact that all Grands Prix are off the table until at least mid-June.

Admittedly, the Renault driver is starting to miss it. He confessed that losing races hurts deeply, especially his home race in Australia. However, he is confident that the FIA will reschedule the race and he will get his redemption.

He joked that on the first day back to the grind, drivers will be eager to race. In that way, they are susceptible to causing mayhem. Ricciardo said, “I’m thinking of qualifying last because I think T1 is going to be mayhem! I’m going to watch it all unfold and probably lead the first lap.”