Fans react to Daniel Ricciardo's latest appearance on social media alongside George Russell

F1 fans expressed excitement after former F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo was spotted alongside Mercedes driver George Russell in a recent social media post. The Aussie driver has kept a low profile ever since he retired from the sport at the end of the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix.

Ricciardo, who was one of the most loved F1 drivers in the recent past, called time on his career after Red Bull Rookie Liam Lawson replaced him following the Singapore race. The fan favorite driver had stints with Red Bull, McLaren, and Renault during his decade-long career at the pinnacle of motorsport.

Daniel Ricciardo was loved not just by the fans, but he was also well-respected among his peers, as evidenced by the slew of messages he received on his exit from F1. The eight-time F1 race winner was recently spotted playing padel with Mercedes driver George Russell and fellow Aussies Oscar Piastri and Scotty James in Monaco.

Russell posted a picture on his official Instagram account with the three of them, accompanied by the flags of all four in his caption.

F1 fans took to George Russell's comments sections to give their reactions to seeing Daniel Ricciardo after a while. Here's a look at some comments:

"Ric Nation thanks you." "I'm gonna frame this one. "DANNY RIC...GRAZIE GEORGE GRAZIE." "Danny looking like he took a gap year out of uni to travel Southeast Asia." "George giving us Dany Ric content..Thanks, George !!" "God bless you, George"

F1 fans' reactions to George Russell's post...Credits-Instagram

Despite several offers to make a return to F1 with Cadillac next year, Daniel Ricciardo has shut them down and emphasized that his racing career in the category is over.

Daniel Ricciardo provides an insight into his new venture

Former Visa Cash App Racing Bulls driver Daniel Ricciardo launched his new TailGate business with Dabble and termed the venture as his "true passion.

On his website DabbleDan.com, the former Red Bull driver mentioned:

"So, after I hung up the helmet, I gave the retired life a crack. Bit of golf, bit of gardening, caught up on sleep, you know how it goes. It was nice… for a while. But then I got that itch. You know? I needed to do something. I missed the buzz. The energy. And that’s when it hit me…It was time I chased my TRUE passion..."

Even before retiring from F1, Ricciardo invested in several companies and launched his wine 'DR3' in collaboration with winemaker Trina Smith at St Hugo and an apparel line 'Enchante', which has become massively popular. Many of the F1 drivers and team principals have also been spotted wearing his company's apparel in the paddock.

Edited by Pratham K Sharma