Daniel Ricciardo explains why he called himself ‘The Honey Badger’

With his Formula 1 career firmly behind him, Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo has been slowly opening up on his experiences behind the wheel and the stories that shaped him.

And in a recent conversation at Ray White’s Connect conference, Ricciardo finally opened up on the origins of his iconic “honey badger” nickname.

Daniel Ricciardo opens up on origins of ‘honey badger’ nickname

Between 2011 and 2024, Ricciardo crafted one of Formula 1’s most charming personas.

The driver hailing from Australia was known for cracking jokes, donning wide smiles, then closing the visor of his helmet to become a fierce on-track competitor known for his decisive overtakes and late braking.

Despite being competitive from the very start, Ricciardo has admitted that an intense, win-or-nothing mindset was somewhat challenging for him to curate at the early stages of his career. And that’s what encouraged him to develop his “alter ego,” the honey badger.

More from PlanetF1.com on Daniel Ricciardo:

👉 What happened to Daniel Ricciardo? The compelling theories to explain his sharp F1 decline

👉 ‘Selfish’ Daniel Ricciardo shares new update on life after F1

As one of the keynote speakers at Ray White’s 2025 Connect conference, Ricciardo was tasked with opening up a bit more on his career, his legacy, and where he goes from here.

Of course, the conversation couldn’t come to a close without an explanation of the honey badger nickname’s origins!

“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.”

Honey badgers can be found scattered across Africa, Southwest Asia, and India, where they’re notorious for their aggression and strength — as evidenced by the viral 2011 YouTube video proudly proclaiming that the “honey badger don’t care; honey badger don’t give a f*ck.”

Having that alter ego allowed Ricciardo to access a “killer instinct” that he may have otherwise found it difficult to uncover.

“I have had a competitor in me since when I was a kid; I was always competitive in everything I did,” he explained.

“But the killer instinct I needed to develop and work on extracting it out of myself. I’m naturally more easy-going.

“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.

“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.

“I think people would see me laughing and joking, and they would see that as weakness and underestimate me. But I would put the helmet on and think, ‘Okay, now it’s time to be tough like the others.’”

That honey badger mindset enabled him to consider his career in a different way. Ricciardo had to learn that raw speed could only serve him so long.

“There’s a lot of drivers who could go on the track by themselves and be fast, but go on the track with 20 others and it’s about race craft, and overtaking is a big part of that,” Ricciardo said.

“It becomes quite scary because there’s some unpredictability and risk involved. You might be in third place and think, ‘Well, I’ve got a podium, do I need to risk crashing?’, but it’s the most fun, and I always thought it was better to crash than not try.

“It got to a point [where] to me it was just instinct. You accept that if it doesn’t work you can be proud that you gave it a crack. I loved it, and I felt like the competitors would see me coming and knew I’d have a go, so I was already one step ahead.”

It’s the mindset that enabled Ricciardo to secure eight victories and 32 podiums during an era otherwise dominated by the Mercedes team, and that made him a fierce and respected competitor on the track.

It remains to be seen how the honey badger alter ego will serve Ricciardo in the future.

The Australian has admitted that his professional racing days are likely behind him after having been replaced at Racing Bulls by Liam Lawson in the final races of the F1 2024 season.

Instead, he’s spent these last months enjoying life and working on his clothing business, Enchanté.

He has, however, recently spent some time in the hospital after sustaining a minor injury following a motorbike accident.

Read next: Daniel Ricciardo treated in hospital following motorbike accident in Australia