Daniel Ricciardo’s $50 million empire reflects how he is more than his driving skills

Daniel Ricciardo did not have the most glittering of F1 careers but still managed to build a huge empire for himself through the sport. 

Ricciardo is in the news today for losing his McLaren seat to compatriot Oscar Piastri. The Aussie moved to the Surrey-based outfit in 2021 in a move that was promising on paper. However, the two seasons he spent with the papaya team saw him being comprehensively outperformed by teammate Lando Norris.

Even before his struggles at McLaren began, Ricciardo’s F1 career was already on a downward trajectory. He left Red Bull in 2018 for Renault which left a lot of people baffled. Most felt that he had to leave them in order to get out of Max Verstappen’s shadow since Red Bull treated the Dutchman as number 1.

However, his switch to Renault did not quite work out in his favor. His aim was to continue fighting at the front, something which the Enstone-based team could not offer him. Ricciardo earned two podium finishes in two seasons before finally joining McLaren in 2021.

Ricciardo is a great driver and has won eight races throughout the course of his career. In spite of that, a lot of time he spent in F1 has been a struggle out on track.

Also read: “It is something that I regret” – Christian Horner claims 2021 F2 champ Oscar Piastri could have driven for Red Bull

How Daniel Ricciardo built an empire worth $50 million

Ricciardo’s years at Red Bull were his best in F1 yet. He joined them in 2014, and was a top driver for them. However, he joined them at a time when Mercedes took over as the dominant team of F1, so Ricciardo was unable to show his race-winning pace for the majority of his stint.

Fast forward to 2022, and Ricciardo is regarded as one of the most popular drivers in F1. This comes in spite of him winning only eight races over the course of his career, suggesting that his brand value lies way beyond the skills we see out on track.

Ricciardo is also extremely marketable as an athlete. He has huge fan following, and any team which has him, gets a large chunk of the fanbase in their corner too. The amount of wealth he has accumulated over the years has been put to smart use by the honey badger.

The Perth-born driver has a net-worth of $50 million as reported by South China Morning Post. He has brought in several endorsements into the sport like GoPro, Beats by Dre and Puma. He also started his own wine collection alongside former F1 Champion Jenson Button himself with bottles priced up to $700.

Also read: “Lewis Hamilton has won 9.6 % of all official F1 races”– F1 Reddit amazed by 103 Grand Prix winner’s record as he boasts more wins than Red Bull