Daniel Ricciardo shares the origin story behind 'the Honeybadger' nickname

Daniel Ricciardo has shared the origin story behind the nickname "Honeybadger" and revealed that it comes from the eerie similarity the animal had with him. The Australian was one of the biggest stars in the sport during his active years. He first broke through in 2014 in his first season with Red Bull, where he ended up outscoring Sebastian Vettel.

The driver was notorious for being lighthearted when he was out of the car, but as soon as he put the helmet on, he became a completely different person. To add to this, Daniel Ricciardo's ability during this time to snatch wins when there was only a marginal possibility of one and doing so in a clinical manner was what helped him get the name "honey badger."

The name stuck with the driver throughout his career until he seemingly concluded his final F1 race last season. In an interview at Ray White’s Connect conference in Australia, Daniel Ricciardo was questioned why he was given the nickname, to which he revealed,

“Honey badgers are cuddly and cute, super good-looking,” he began with a laugh. “But when something takes what’s theirs, they fight back, and I think that was sort of like my alter ego when I got behind the wheel.”

He added

“I have had a competitor in me since when I was a kid; I was always competitive in everything I did,” he commented. “But the killer instinct I needed to develop and work on extracting it out of myself. I’m naturally more easy-going.

Daniel Ricciardo opens up on the the training that went behind him developing that attitude

In a surprising revelation, Daniel Ricciardo said that the 'honeybadger' trait did not come naturally to him, and it was something that he had to work on with his trainer. During his formative years, he would look at some of the top drivers in the sport and how they always had this trait in them and felt that this was something worth adding to the arsenal. He said,

“One of my first trainers at the time, Stu Smith, he really brought it out of me. I did have to work at it, but when I let it out it did feel kinda nice – it’s nice to be a badass sometimes."

He added,

“I would use too much energy trying to be tough all the time because it’s not natural for me. I would see other drivers who had that killer instinct from morning to night and I wished I could be like them.

Daniel Ricciardo had a very successful career that saw him win multiple races and be the Red Bull lead driver for some time. It is, however, fair to say that maybe there was more that could have been done in his career, as he never got the chance to drive an out-and-out fastest car and hence compete for the title.