It was just over a month ago that the whole AlphaTauri saga happened. For the unversed, 28-year-old rookie Nyck De Vries was coming under loads of pressure to pick up his performances, pressure that only resulted in more underperformances. Red Bull being Red Bull (AlphaTauri is its sister team), replaced De Vries the first chance it got, bringing in none other than Red Bull legacy—a driver the Milton-Keynes team has put its trust in before and reaped the benefits—Daniel Ricciardo. 

Before making his official F1 return at the Hungarian GP, Ricciardo spent six months on the sidelines as Red Bull’s reserve driver. Understandably, he wasn’t nearly as fit as he used to be when he had a racing seat, especially compared to the other drivers. So, in the final race before the summer break, the Aussie revealed his summer plans to the media at the Belgian GP.

Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen are back at it

When Ricciardo and Max Verstappen were teammates at Red Bull, the duo became very close friends—their bromance was even termed ‘Maxiel.’ Even after the Honey Badger left Red Bull, their friendship didn’t falter, and now that they’re both on the grid, their banter is much more public. Everyone got a taste of it during media day at the Dutch GP.

When asked about his summer plans in an interview with F1, Ricciardo said, “I say play catch up in terms of from a physical standpoint because obviously, my race fitness isn’t what all the other drivers’ is.” This is precisely what the interviewer mentioned during the drivers’ press conference. They asked, “At Spa, you said you were going to spend the summer break working on your fitness. What kind of shape are you in now?” Ricciardo replied, “You tell me,” to which the interviewer noted, “You’re looking great, I have to say. Were you working on power? Were you working on endurance? What did you get up to?”

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Instead of letting Ricciardo answer, George Russell chipped in, saying, “Endurance in Ibiza,” referring to the party (that involved dancing) the two attended with their girlfriends. But Verstappen, with an obvious innuendo, added, “I think it was hip flexors!” Ricciardo couldn’t help but blush and shy away, having to ask Verstappen to “Stop it!”

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The F1 community sure missed Maxiel’s banter during the summer break, but if you’re wondering if Ricciardo actually worked on himself, here’s what he was up to in August.

Daniel Ricciardo’s “six-month holiday” didn’t stop him from having fun

During his interview in Spa, Ricciardo revealed he felt better than expected after the Hungarian GP but would work to get better during the break. He added, “Of course, I’ll try and enjoy a little bit of a holiday, but I’ve had a holiday for six months!” For the fun part of his summer break, he headed to Ibiza to hang out with his friend, Dutch DJ Martin Garrix. The Aussie met Russell during Garrix’s concert, where the Honey Badger belted out high-speed shuffles and dance moves that impressed Russell.

To be fair, though, Ricciardo stuck to his word and worked on improving himself too. Unlike Lando Norris and Lewis Hamilton, who were on a social media break, Ricciardo kept his fans updated throughout his holiday. Apart from spending time with his girlfriend and friends—as per his Instagram “Summer slam dump 🏖️,”—he did quite a lot of fitness, too. Whether or not he feels better about himself, we’ll only know after the race in Zandvoort, but for now, we can be “in awe of Daniel’s fitness” like Verstappen and Russell were.

Did you see any transformation in Daniel Ricciardo over the summer break?

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