“I Don’t Regret It”: Daniel Ricciardo Recalls His “Virgin” Era With Advice for Those Who Need It

A crucial aspect of Daniel Ricciardo’s personality has long been his smile. However, to him, it was never as good as it is today. Talking about the time he was on a mission to perfect it, Ricciardo recollected the time he had braces.

On the Red Flags Podcast, Ricciardo spoke to the hosts about his early days in F1 when he was sporting braces. The V-CARB driver described them as “train tracks” whereas the host Matt had an alternative adjective for Ricciardo – “Virgin“. The Perth-born driver, burst out laughing.

Having braces was an awkward phase for a young Ricciardo but looking back, he has no regrets. He went as far as to encourage people who were thinking about getting braces, to go ahead with it.

He said, “I was self-conscious. I was about twenty, I think. I was in F1 and it was like, yeah I should have done this five years ago. But it’s better now than five years down the line. So, I did it and it was good. So, anyone thinking of getting train tracks – I don’t regret it so you won’t, too!”

Braces and teeth were not the only topics of discussion related to Ricciardo’s appearance. The hosts of the podcast also turned their attention to another predominant feature of Ricciardo’s face – his nose.

Did Ricciardo ever consider getting a nose job?

Ricciardo was asked whether he ever felt insecure about his appearance in his younger days. To this, he admitted that back in school, he was always very conscious about his nose; more specifically, the size of it. However, it wasn’t to the extent of considering getting surgery done to fix it.

He explained, “I guess, the older you get the more comfortable you are. And I was just like ‘Okay, maybe yeah my nose is a little bigger than someone else’s but my teeth are better than someone else’s!'”

Today, Ricciardo’s smile is one of the most affable ones in the F1 paddock. Even the honey badger himself admits that his smile played a huge role in defining his personality and is a huge reason behind his stellar fan following.