Daniel Ricciardo stands as one of the few drivers on the current grid who have tattoos on their bodies, which he uses to further express himself. Despite admittedly having a fear of needles, the Australian doesn’t step away from the challenge when it comes to getting himself inked.
Ricciardo’s love for tattoos extends so far that even two of his former team bosses got themselves inked in honor of the ‘Honey Badger.’ Renault’s Cyril Abiteboul was the first one to do so after he lost a bet against the Australian driver in 2020 over getting the team a podium at the Eifel Grand Prix.
Zak Brown came next when he got a permanent tattoo on his left bicep, which was an outline of the Monza circuit, where Ricciardo earned McLaren their first win in nine years. Alongside the layout of the track, Brown also got the date of the race etched onto him.
Ricciardo himself has a bunch of tattoos, 21 in total, scattered across his body, and fans can’t help but wonder what tattoos he has. Given the same, here’s a breakdown of all of Ricciardo’s various tattoos, as found through ‘A Distant Dreamer.’
Where does Daniel Ricciardo have tattoos?
The area with the biggest tattoos on Ricciardo‘s body is his right thigh. His first-ever tattoo was of a ship and lighthouse, which he got in 2013. This tattoo has a deep meaning, like most others. In this case, the lighthouse and ship represents traveling and his home. Since Ricciardo travels so much every year, he keeps this as a reminder that no matter where he travels, he will return home.
Next, he has a ‘Mum and Papa’ tattoo inside a heart above the back of his knee, which he got in 2017. On the inside of his knee is a flower, which he got in between late 2016 and early 2017, alongside an eagle on the back of his thigh.
The inside of his thigh has a tattoo of a couple with a love letter, which he got in 2017, after the eagle tattoo. Ricciardo has a tattoo of a girl racer on the outside of his thigh and also sports a boxer, high above on the outside of his thigh. Both tattoos came in 2018.
Right Foot and Right Arm
Ricciardo has two tattoos on his right foot. The first of them is a “Live fast” etching on top of his foot, and the second is a compass on the inside of his ankle, which he shares with some of his friends.
The 34-year-old has three tattoos on his right arm. First of the three is ‘Free’ written on the side of his forearm. Next is ‘Treble Clef,’ which features on his wrist- denoting his love for music. The last is a ‘3’ written on his pinky finger.
Left Arm – Daniel Ricciardo’s busiest body part
A total of eight tattoos cover up the Visa Cash App RB driver’s left arm.
He has a rose tattoo on his left hand, which he got in 2018. The tattoo carries no meaning according to him, and he got it only because he found it pretty. In 2019, he got the word ‘love’ tattooed on his left forearm. There is also a cupid on his forearm, which has something to do with his family, but Ricciardo never revealed the true meaning behind the tattoo he got in July 2019.
On his bicep are the words ‘Shine On,’ which he got in 2018 after a bumpy phase in his life. He also has the words ‘LA’ on his biceps, which he hilariously got when he was drunk. The inside of Ricciardo’s bicep has a baby with a skull tattoo. Ricciardo has no clue what the tattoo he got in 2020 means. He only got it out of whim.
There is a cowgirl tattoo on Ricciardo’s tricep, which he got in 2018 after the rose. The final tattoo in this section is that of an Astronaut on his shoulder, which came in 2019.
Chest
The last of the 21 tattoos on Ricciardo’s body features on his chest. It features the words ‘Of Love and Life,’ which are lyrics from a Caamp Song. He got it in August 2021.
Daniel Ricciardo initially never wanted a tattoo
Ricciardo has a lot of tattoos all over his body. However, the honey badger never wanted to get one in the first place. This was mainly because he was too afraid of needles. He did get over his fear in 2013, getting the ‘ship and lighthouse’ tattoo.
He is not the only driver, however, in F1 to have so many tattoos. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is also a big fan of tattoos, and has 15 of them. Like Ricciardo’s they too have meaning, and Hamilton proudly sports them.
