Daniel Ricciardo takes over one of Australia's best-known brands in hilarious new ad that's a HUGE hint at what he'll do after Formula One
- F1 veteran is at a career crossroads after awful season
- Might not have a drive for 2025 with spots filling fast
- Latest announcement shows he has a fallback plan
If Daniel Ricciardo's F1 career falls apart at the end of this season, he has a pretty handy fallback option after signing a major deal with a leading Australian brand.
The 35-year-old's driving future remains up in the air, although he has signalled that he is keen to continue racing despite his struggles in 2024.
However, his love of wine may become his new passion after he signed a deal to stock his own line of DR3 Wines at Dan Murphy's liquor superstores around the country.
Ricciardo has released a hilarious new video announcing the partnership, taking it all a bit too far - in typical Daniel Ricciardo fashion - as he's seen taking over an entire Dan Murphy's store.
Daniel Ricciardo admires his handiwork as he takes over an entire Dan Murphy's store in the ad
Ricciardo even replaces the iconic Dan Murphy's branding with his own likeness
In the advertisement, Ricciardo is kicking back, enjoying a glass of red wine when his agent calls.
The agent tells the F1 star he has a PR appointment at 2pm and that Australian liquor store chain Dan Murphy's has called.
He tells Ricciardo they are willing to stock his brand of red and will even devote 'an entire ...' to his wines before the line breaks up at a crucial point.
'My own store?' Ricciardo gasps.
'No, your own ...,' the agent replies as the line crackles again.
Ricciardo is then filmed taking over an entire Dan Murphy's store, even changing the iconic logo to feature his own face and re-branding the store to 'Dan Ricciardo's'.
Palletloads of Ricciardo's brand of red wine are brought in by forklift in the commercial
Dan Murphy's is trumpeting the partnership as one forged between 'the two greatest Dans to ever do it'.
In 2021, Ricciardo teamed up with Barossa Valley's St Hugo to create a wine range named DR3, after his initials and F1 car number.
Ricciardo's journey into the wine industry was boosted last year with billionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes promoting his St Hugo Ric Red.
The wine was added to the range of select Merivale restaurants, with Ricciardo and Hemmes spotted at at Totti's Bondi on December 7 to celebrate their new partnership.
Ricciardo championed the shoey and has released a wine decanter in the shape of a shoe
In a bizarre move, Ricciardo has also launched a hand-blown glass decanter in the shape of a racing boot in partnership with St Hugo so that fans can have a shoey in style.
Ricciardo is famous for championing the Aussie celebration, which involves pouring alcohol into a worn shoe or boot and then drinking it.
Most recently, he did so after winning last year's Italian Grand Prix at Monza, and famously persuaded actor Sir Patrick Stewart to join him in the peculiar tradition when he finished third in the 2018 Canadian GP in Montreal.
The shoey is believed to have originated with Australian V8 Supercars drivers in 2014 and has since been embraced by various athletes, including Australian UFC star Tai Tuivasa.
Ricciardo is currently racing for Red Bull's sister team RB, but there won't be a drive there for him in 2025 with Yuki Tsunoda to extend his stay and the team poised to elevate reserve driver Liam Lawson.
A fairytale return to Red Bull could be back on the cards for Ricciardo with Sergio Perez reportedly set to be axed if he doesn't improve his performances.
Ricciardo has also been linked with Williams, although it remains unclear whether the 35-year-old would want to finish his career with the F1 minnows.
Read More: F1 world champion Jacques Villeneuve continues relentless tirade against Daniel Ricciardo, but claims the Aussie is the one being childish >
