Despite Contractual Restrictions, Red Bull Cash In on Daniel Ricciardo’s “Smile, His Shoey”

Daniel Ricciardo will serve Red Bull in 2023 only in the capacity of a third driver. However, that does not necessarily mean his popularity has taken any hit. In fact, he is more popular than ever, especially in America. And that is something Red Bull might look to cash in on.

Ricciardo’s 2 seasons with McLaren went a lot worse than he would have imagined. Resultantly, he decided to take a year away from Formula 1 to gather his thoughts and realize his love for the sport once again. However, he did not intend to stay completely cut off from the ecosystem, either. And that is when the third driver’s seat at Red Bull opened up.

Daniel Ricciardo will help build Red Bull’s brand

As the Milton-Keynes-based outfit brought in Ricciardo, some saw the move as a threat to Perez’s place in the team. However, Helmut Marko put an end to such rumors, providing assurance to Checo. Moreover, Ricciardo recently revealed that his contract does not include a clause that says he will race for Red Bull in 2024. In fact, even during his stint as reserve driver, if an occasion arises where either Max or Checo needs to be replaced, it will be Liam Lawson who will fill the cockpit.

In a recent interview with ServusTV, Helmut Marko said, “We have to remember that we are a great team.”

“We also have the largest number of sponsors on the grid. This means that we also have many commitments every year, such as car shows and roadshows in the United States,” he added. “Who can do it better than Ricciardo with his smile, his shoeys and I don’t know what else he has up his sleeve?”

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Even Daniel’s agents recently admitted his commercial portfolio was bigger than ever. As he takes a year away from regular action in F1, they are looking to land him a TV role.

Ricciardo to appear on TV?

Daniel is currently working as an Executive Producer for an upcoming Hulu series. The series is based around F1 with a theme similar to the popular TV show Entourage. One of Daniel’s agents, Nick Thimm, revealed they turned down some TV roles. However, they are looking to land an “adjacent to the F1 world” role, which will differ from an expert role.

“Even though it didn’t go our way driving-wise (at McLaren), his commercial portfolio has never been bigger,” Sports Business Journal quoted Thimm as saying. “As all the struggles were going on (on the track in 2022), he still evolved and rose to the top from a commercial, marketing, and representation-of-the-sport perspective.”

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Speaking along similar lines as Ricciardo, his other agent Roman Di Somma told that Ricciardo was eyeing a comeback in 2024. Given that Ricciardo has been receiving acting proposals, do you think Ricciardo will hold himself well on the silver screen?