“What’s Your Name?”: When Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button Pretended to Be Strangers

Back in 2018 at the California Speedway, Daniel Ricciardo and Jenson Button had a banter session while pretending to not know each other. The then-Red Bull driver did not hesitate to playfully take a dig at Button after the Briton highlighted he was named after a car. This exchange began after Button approached the Australian for an autograph.

Ricciardo, being respectful as he always is, told the 2009 F1 champion, “Sure,” before hilariously asking him, “What’s your name?“. Button replied Jenson, but it took Ricciardo a while to register it.

The Aussie first thought it was Jason and even when he got the name right, he was not sure if Jenson began with a G or a J. Button replied it starts with a J and he is named after a car, to which Ricciardo wittily replied, “Must have been a slow car”.

JB: “Can i have an autograph please”
DR: “Sure what’s your name?”
JB: “Jenson”
DR: “Is that with a G or a J?”
JB: “It’s with a J, named after a car”
DR: “Must have been a slow car” pic.twitter.com/Si53rJmVLz

— rio¹ ‍⬛ (@fyodof) November 17, 2024

All the while, Ricciardo‘s mistakes with Button’s name just did not stop. Even while signing Button’s autograph, the British former driver had to tell the Australian that his name ended with ‘NSON’.

Button seemed delighted to receive Ricciardo’s autograph as he pointed to the cameras with a big thumbs up. And with Ricciardo still making some or the other mistake, Button told him to “keep trying”.

However, perhaps the most hilarious moment came after Ricciardo had finished signing the autograph for Button. The 2009 world champion asked the Honey Badger, “Fantastic, thank you, what’s your name again”, a reply that got a chuckle out of everyone present in their vicinity including Ricciardo himself.

Their interaction ended with Ricciardo stating his name was Ricky Bobby. This was just another instance when the Aussie was at his absolute best when it came to his comic timing and what was perhaps more interesting was that Button managed to brilliantly play along.