Danny Didnt Deserve That And Thatwas Charles Podium

Danny didn’t deserve that and thatwas Charles’ podium

Goodbye

You know what day is today?

DANIEL RICCIARDO FINISHED IN POINTS AND HE IS NO LONGER NO.22 IN CHAMPIONSHIP AND HE IS THE ONLY ALPHA TAURI DRIVER TO STAY IN TOP 10 THAT LONG

THATS👏MY👏MAN👏

Considering tomorrow’s Daniel last race (for now) it’s only fair I make a post for him.

I first came across him on YouTube by pure accident and I really liked him so I thought if I wanna see more of this beautiful human being I must get into F1 and that’s how I watched Imola 2022 (he ended up P18 after a collusion with Carlos) but one of my first images of him is him in his redbull race suit doing a shoey and I thought it’s a thing to drink out of your shoe in F1 lol.

As someone who lives in Iran (you should check out what’s going on here if you don’t know, it’s a big deal) it’s been a really hard 2-3 months and Daniel has been a real source happiness and positive energy for me, to keep my brain in right place and I’m so so sad to see him out. I really wish I could know about him much sooner.

I wish him the best in his future, no matter what it is and I wish him all the best thing in the world. Honey badger don’t quit.

Cheers to Danny, his 8 wins and 32 podiums🥂

Ok so time to let it out:

DANIEL RICCIARDO ON P4 AFTER HIS RETURN FROM BROKEN HAND AND HE NAILED IT FUCKING HELL

Idk what to say, but omg, what a ride, WHAT A LAP, AND WHAT A MAN

He did so beautifully, it was a blast to watch it and i went through tons of unnamed emotions cause i don’t know how i felt, BUT HE IS HERE TO STAY

OMG

In words of Daniel Ricciardo: I’m unwell baby

Daniel Joseph Ricciardo, you are the World Champion!

In which Daniel wins the Championship.

Warning: Pure, utterly complete delusion.

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February 2026, Bahrain

“Well, hello everyone. Cars, on track, for the first time this year! How good is that?!”

“So much to cover this afternoon” Ted Kravitz led his cameraman down the paddock as he fished his notes out of his pocket. “Right then, let’s start off with the talk of the paddock - the new Audi-Sauber team and their surprising new driver line-up!” 

“It’s a bit of an interesting one, isn’t it? Daniel Ricciardo and Theo Pourchaire! Yep, the Honey Badger is back in F1 after three years out. Are we surprised that Audi went for Danny Ric? I mean it’s an easy choice if you’re looking for experience. Yes, his last season with McLaren had not been great, but I think he’s more than proved himself in the years away since then, hasn’t he?”

“He’s won Le Mans in 2023 and then went on to win the Indy500 just last year. And you know what that makes him? The only second driver to have ever won the triple crown of motorsport!” Ted stopped just outside the new Audi motor home. “Also he didn’t do too badly today as well.”

“He finished P6 on the timesheets, with his former teammate Max Verstappen in P1, followed by the merc boys - George and Lewis, Yuki Tsunoda in that second Red Bull and Charles Leclerc in his Ferrari. It’s not looking too bad for the Australian, is it? He may just be the one to look out for this season!”

“Now Pete, the Ferraris!” He gestured for his cameraman to follow him as he continued to move down the paddock “those were some interesting side pods we saw on the car …”

-l l-

Up in his driver’s room, Daniel Ricciardo felt as if his neck was about to snap into two. It was always painful to get back into the car after the winter break and even more so now, when he’d been out of the car for three years, but damn if he could stop himself from smiling. 

“How was it out there today?” Michael asked as he applied the kinesio tape on Dan’s neck. “Good” he said, and just like in his interviews from earlier, he had to stop himself from gushing, had to be conservatively optimistic for fear of jinxing himself. Truth be told, he felt almost jubilant. Because this morning, when he’d sat in the car and drifted out of the garage, he’d felt that click with the car. The click he hadn’t felt since he’d left Red Bull. He might get criticised for this, but Daniel had never been the type of driver who’d get too technical. His driving style had always been more instinctive. He had to have that particular feeling in the car, that certainty that the car would do exactly what he expected it to do when he was throwing it around a corner at 300 kilometres per hour. He wasn’t naïve, he knew there were still kinks to work out, but he knew the pace was there because they’d been massively sandbagging this morning. He almost had to stop himself from declaring he was here to win the championship because he knew they might laugh him out of the paddock. But these people didn’t know the new Daniel, most still remembered the broken man that McLaren had left for dead. 

For his sanity’s sake, Daniel rarely thought back to the season he lost his seat. It had happened to his teammates before but he’d never thought it would ever happen to him. Even after McLaren had essentially fired him, he’d still had hope he could turn his career around. He’d only lost hope when he had found out that Pierre got the Alpine seat while he was still in Australia before the Singaporean Grand Prix. From that moment on, he’d known his prospects for 2023 were pretty much non-existent, but still he’d flown to Singapore, did his media duties, played his usual happy-go-lucky guy role to perfection and all the while, he had been dying inside. And then he got P5 in that race, his best finish that season. He had people congratulating him and through it all, all he could think about was how far he had fallen. He used to be on the top step and now people were patting him on the shoulder for fucking P5. 

That night, he’d gone back to his hotel room and looked at himself in the mirror, really looked at himself and he hadn’t recognised the man who’d looked back at him. He still loved the sport but he couldn’t see the Daniel who was passionate about racing, whether he came in first or last. He could only see a man who had been so concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other everyday for so long that he hadn’t realised he had reached the end of the road. He’d picked up the phone and dialled his mom even though he knew it was an ungodly hour in Australia. His mom had picked up on the first ring and she’d softly said his name. That string that had been holding him back finally snapped, and he’d cried, big gulping sobs, snot mixing with his hot tears. When he’d finally calmed down, his mom had quietly told him you know what you have to do. The next morning, he’d told Blake and Michael about his decision. 

For the rest of the season, everyone and their mother had gone on and on about what a terrible decision he was making, that they couldn’t understand why he would take a step back. He hadn’t needed people to tell him the risk he was taking, he’d been well-aware of the odds of him ever making his way back on the grid. But he’d reached a point where he couldn’t go on, it had been more important for him to salvage whatever dignity he had left and leave before he started hating the sport. Sometimes, it took a lot more of bravery to accept defeat. So he’d left. He’d taken the time to find his smile again and then block by block, he’d slowly started to rebuild himself into a better, improved Daniel. And this Daniel was here to win. 

-l l-

May 2026, Monaco

“Hello and welcome to the qualifying round of the 2026 Monaco Grand Prix. Join us as we watch the 20 drivers fight it out for pole position here. Martin, we all know how important qualifying is here. Who is your favourite for pole position here today?”

“Yes, Crofty. Qualifying in Monaco is always a special one. It really tests all the skills you need as an F1 driver. It should be an interesting fight for pole today. We can expect Max, Lewis and Charles to be bringing a good fight, but I believe we may be in for a surprising result in Daniel Ricciardo. He’s been on pole twice here before and with the season he’s been having since his comeback, I don’t think we can discount him from the fight.”

“Ah yes, Daniel Ricciardo. What a mega comeback it has been. He was in the top 5 in Bahrain and Saudi, and then he went on to win his home race! What an incredible weekend that was! I don’t think I’ve ever heard a crowd cheer so loud as he was making his way round that last corner at Albert Park before he took the chequered flag.”

“Definitely, his performances have been incredible. He did well in China and Baku as well, placing second in both of these races”

“If he continues with performances like that, I think he’ll have to lay off the shoey a bit. Surely, it wouldn’t be too good for his health if he does back-to-backs!”

Daniel knew these streets like the back of his hand. He could drive this track with his eyes closed. So far, he’d been P3 in both Q1 and Q2. There was 3 minutes left on the clock and he had to make this lap count. As he reached the end of his outlap, he briefly closed his eye, took a deep breath and relaxed his shoulders. He let his instincts take over. He almost felt like he was having an out-of-body experience, hovering over the car, watching as he hit the apex, anticipating where the racing line was even before he was taking that exit. He didn’t even need confirmation from his engineer to know pole was his. And the next day, as he took the chequered flag, he couldn’t help thinking that winning Monaco was even sweeter the second time around. 

-l l-

September 2026, Monza

“Mate, zucchini on pizza sounds awful”

“Don’t diss it until you’ve tried it, Russell George” Daniel laughed, as they made their way to the truck for the driver’s parade. Daniel couldn’t really tell how his friendship with George had come about. They were vastly different people, but they’d always shared a mutual respect and then George had been one of the few people who had not hesitated to outwardly support him during that last year. And for that, Daniel would always be grateful. He got on the truck, fist-bumping all of the drivers.  The Italian sun was shining and just like in 2021, he was starting in P2 just behind Max. Daniel was desperate to pull off the same start as he had the last time around. He badly wanted to win here again. His last Monza win would always be associated with McLaren and he wanted a Monza win that he could call just his. 

Later on, as he stood on the highest step of the podium, head tipped back as Max poured the bottle of champagne over him, Daniel felt vindicated. Last time around, he’d cried on the podium, out of relief, out of happiness that he could give that win to his team. This time around, he felt like roaring, felt like banging on his chest. This more than anything felt like a big fuck you to McLaren. In the five years since that last victory, since McLaren had kicked him out, he’d won two of the most prestigious motor races in the world, had clawed his way back to F1, had won another six Grand Prix, had been on 10 podiums so far, while McLaren was still chasing that illusive next victory. He was still McLaren’s last winner. He sat down and unlaced his boots. He’d had his redemption, now it was time for his vindication. 

-l l-

November 2026, Abu Dhabi

“Radio check, Daniel”

“Loud and clear” 

“30s to the formation lap”

“25s…”

“10s …”

The tire blankets were removed, the car was lowered on its jack. His head mechanic gave him a slight nod. Good to go. 

Daniel lowered the lid on his helmet, flexed his hand on the steering wheel. This was it. All or nothing. Last night, he’d been beating himself up for missing out on pole and for qualifying P3. Then this afternoon, as he walked into the paddock, Martin fucking Brundle had pushed his microphone into his face and had the gall to go on about how surprising it was that Daniel was even a name in the championship fight, how no one had expected that he would only be four points behind Max in the lead going into the final race. Daniel had wanted to snap that he had, that he’d come into this season with the full belief that he could win, but he’d put on his usual smile and gave his usual asinine answer. 

That more than anything had fired him up. All throughout his career, people had always underestimated him, thinking he was no more than the joker he liked to play.   He let that need to prove people wrong fuel him. He thought back to his win over Valterri in Silverstone during their junior years. He wasn’t meant to win that race, but then he had.  It had been the same in China in 2018. Most of his wins had been outside of pole. The championship was still his to lose before it was even Max’s to win. He was Daniel Ricciardo, he could make the unexpected happen. 

5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … breathe … 1 … lights out.  It was time to go hunting. 

“Good job, mate. You got Leclerc on the start. Up to P2. 54 laps to go. All to play for.”

Max wasn’t the kind of driver who would easily give in to mind games on track , but Daniel knew the only way he could win this was to force Max into making a mistake. For him, that was the fun in hunting - lulling your prey into complacency, slowly drawing blood before  pouncing for the kill. 

So, he waited.  Lap after lap, he held on to Max, staying in his slipstream. They both built a gap to the rest of the grid, had their pitstops and yet Daniel did not make a move. His engineer kept feeding him information about tyre temperature, Max’s lap times and through all of it, he kept his eyes fixed to the back of Max’s car. Five laps to go. It was time to add a bit of pressure. He closed the gap to the car in front, his front tyres nearly kissing the rear of Max’s car. He stayed glued to Max’s gearbox as they went into the next turn.  From then on, it was a game of cat and mouse. Daniel dove down the inside of Max, but Max firmly closed the door. Daniel weaved back and forth, never letting max forget of the danger he posed. He dove and recoiled. Daniel once again dove down the inside going into the next chicane, coming out of the exit side by side with Max. He knew that he wouldn’t have been able to make the move stick because Max had the racing line on that one, but he could feel Max’s nervousness. He had started driving more defensively, going over a couple meters of track he didn’t need to to fend Daniel off. Daniel could smell the blood in the water. Two laps to go. It was time to make his move. He did the classic switcheroo, diving down the inside before switching back, making the move stick by outbraking Max at the last second. They exited the corner with Max trying to come back at him, but Daniel kept a steady grip on the racing line, gradually pulling away. 

Daniel knew the battle wasn’t over. Anything could happen in the last few corners. He tried to keep his heart rate down, kept his focus on the last lap ahead. Keep it together, don’t get cocky, he repeated to himself.

“Okay, Daniel. Last corner, last corner. Verstappen is 0.4s behind you. You’re going to make it, Daniel. We just need to keep it together. This is it, Daniel. This is it.”

“What a brilliant battle we’ve seen these last two laps. Max Verstappen has defended his first position valiantly, but there was no stopping this man, Daniel Ricciardo. And just like a phoenix rising from the ashes, the honey badger has come back to win his first world championship as he takes the checkered flag under the lights here in Abu Dhabi! He becomes the second driver only in history to have won the triple crown of motorsport and a Formula One championship! What an incredible achievement!”

Daniel could hear his team go wild over the radio as he crossed the finish line. His heart felt like it could burst from his chest at any moment, it was beating so furiously. The fireworks overhead blurred and sparkled through his tears and sweat running down his face. He’d spent so long chasing this dream, sacrificed so much to get to this moment that now that it was within his grasp, he couldn’t quite believe it. For the first time in his life, Daniel Ricciardo was speechless. 

“Thanks boys. Thank you” Daniel’s voice cracked with emotion. He wasn’t even embarrassed that he was openly crying. He had fought too long for this, he deserved it. “Thanks for believing in me. I knew we could do it. We deserve it!”

He parked his car in parc fermé. Knees weak, he clambered up onto the halo and as a million flashbulbs went off, he beat on his chest. The honey badger was finally victorious. 

Then, it was a blur of celebratory hugs and pats from his team, from the other drivers. Through it all, he remembered seeing his mom’s tear-stained face, his dad’s proud smile. On the podium, the Australian flag draped over his shoulders, head thrown back as he tried to stop himself from crying once again. Fucking hell, he’d done it. Then he was handed his trophy. He placed a soft kiss at her base, then he was lifting her up as the lights bounced off the silver. 

Much later, Daniel walked into his driver’s room, still in a daze, shoeless, race suit drenched in sweat, tears and champagne. He looked at himself in the tiny mirror on his wall. The urge to both laugh and cry bubbled up inside of him. It was going to take sometime for it to really sink in for him. He dragged his hands over his face and up into his curls. Guess he could really say he never left this time around. 

Mystery of love (Maxiel one shot)

Hello people, last night during a conversation and sleepy haze at 3-4 am I thought I might fuck around and write a little Maxiel piece and here we are, thanks to my bestie for not talking me out of it

Pairing: Daniel Ricciardo x Max Verstappen

Word count: 1.7k

Warning: none

Also you can listen to this, I think it matches

No one could deny how good looking Daniel Ricciardo was, it didn’t matter if you were a man or woman, he was undeniably hot.

Max always thought he was, never gave it too much thought because that’s what everyone else thinks. Yet he couldn’t help but linger on his compliments, friendly-sometimes- inappropriate touches and his effort to make him laugh. No one has ever tried to coax a laugh or smile out of Max and since his first arrival in RedBull Daniel had made this his sole mission. He’s been there for him in ways Max wouldn’t even expected from a teammate but Daniel was so selfless and light hearted, he’d give without expecting anything in return, he’d put up with him being grumpy and awkward, would try and light up the atmosphere during debrief sessions. During an occasion when Max was not in the mood to sit and listen to the way the race went wrong, Daniel simply surprised him by touching his hand, Max would like to think he wasn’t phased by his warm hands, soft touch and slander fingers but he couldn’t deny the way his heart seemed to skip a beat.

Daniel on the other hand was very intrigued by his teammate who seemed like a grumpy cat most of the time, he wanted to do his best and bring him out of his shell, to let him relax and laugh as carefree as him. At the end of the day Max was one of the youngest on the grid and as his teammate he wanted to make him as comfortable as possible, he knew he shouldn’t but anytime something would go wrong for the younger he couldn’t hide the way him, too would also feel upset. But nonetheless would put on a smile and crack a joke, it was always such a relief to watch the tension leaving Max’s body and his shoulder relaxing.

The buzz in RedBull garage was so high after the double podium, even though Max and Daniel were separated by Lewis no one was complaining. Daniel’s loud laugh could be heard at every corner of the garage, music playing loud enough to annoy the teams next to them. Max changed from his sweaty race suit as soon as he could but Daniel was still walking around in his, which now had a mixed smell of sparkling wine and sweat. The smell was too familiar with Max when Daniel appeared next to him “that was some gorgeous driving on track Max, you did so well, proud of ya” he grinned wide, genuinely happy that his teammate has won.

Max returned his smile just as big, pulling him for a hug without minding how wet his race suit was or how sweaty he smelled, he felt like his cheeks blushed by the firm hug Daniel returned but was sure people would think it’s because of the awfully hot weather. Max didn’t pull away completely “you did well too, we brought in a double podium”

The pair started walking towards the back of the garage, actively discussing the race they had. Daniel was walking ahead, turning his head from time to time to signal that he was listening to Max.

Max made a gesture with his hands, trying to remake the circuit “the first turn was crazy, I’m glad nothing bad happened”

Daniel turned and gave him his full attention, he’d always do it when Max was giving him explanations about the track, not intending to look distracted in his eyes “yeah I know, also nice move on Lewis you really got him there”

Max’s face bloomed at his compliment, he always felt a deep warmth anytime Daniel would tell him he did something good during a race “ah thanks mate, you weren’t so bad yourself on Bottas, that overtake was a classic”

Daniel turned his face away to hide the pink blush appearing on his face and kept walking towards his driver’s room with Max walking behind.

Somehow without giving it much thought Max ended up in his room, throwing himself on the only available piece of furniture “I’m really tired man, but what a race” his aching body relaxed and it suddenly hits him what was going to happen. Without a care about the fact that Max was sitting there, Daniel unzipped his racing suit and threw it on the floor, sighing out of relief, next came his white fireproof suit that was drenched in sweat and it landed straight on the pile on the floor. Max couldn’t get a word out, it was true he had seen this scene more times he’d like to count, but he never stopped being amazed at how good look Daniel looked. Leaned body and bronze sun kissed skin, the ink adorning his right thigh that he had never admitted to anyone in his life just how much he liked it, ripped stomach and chiseled chest, the result of long training sessions. The muscles of his biceps had him mesmerized the way he moved his hand and grabbed a dark blue RedBull shirt, the scene was gone as soon it had arrived, later his thigh tattoo was hidden by a short.

Daniel turned and glanced at Max who didn’t shy away from staring, he giggled at his face expression “I put on a show for you didn’t I”

Max blinked a few times to clear his head “what? Yeah yeah that was quiet a show you did there”

Daniel didn’t reply, instead sat down next to Max, both pressed against each other on the tiny leather sofa, he leaned his head backwards and moved closer to him, completely closing the distance left between them.

Max turned his head to look at his face in close approximate, eyes closed, long eyelashes casted a slight shadow over his skin and his curls were a mess on top of his head, his mouth had a tiny smile on and Max couldn’t help but to smile back subconsciously.

“I’m so tired that I just want to get to the hotel and sleep on a soft bed” Daniel whined, not knowing how the youngster next to him was eying him. At some point he felt a heaviness of a stare and opened his eyes, Max was taken aback but didn’t back down, curious to see how far he wanted this to go. Daniel moved his body and faced him, his elbow supporting his head. The soft expression on his face and his kind eyes had Max relaxed, deep down he knew Daniel would never react too harsh but he couldn’t be sure about this.

Daniel’s face remainder unchanged, the whole interaction made Max feel like something has crawled under his skin, somewhere between the haze of win and his own feelings he leaned in closer, close enough that they could easily kiss but he suddenly stopped, his brain reminding him that what if Daniel didn’t want this, what if he gets mad and walks out and would never want to see Max’s face ever again.

On the other hand Daniel was silently begging Max to go ahead and just do it, even if it was one time he was very willing and eager to let it happen, he tipped his head forward to show that it is ok by him, their forehead slightly touched. Daniel blinked and his eyes were fixed on his face, patiently waiting to see what the next move would be “you know It’s fine, I’m ok with it if you are” Daniel spoke in low soft voice, trying not to urge him to make a decision if he had decided he didn’t want to go ahead. The words settled the commotion in his chest and Max leaned closer until their lips met, both of them took their time, trying to enjoy the feeling of their lips locked and the way each of them kept sucking at each other’s lips. Max’s hand were aimless until Daniel grabbed his hand and locked their fingers, the gesture had his heart leaping in his chest. He got bolder and kissed harsher, even though Daniel was the most experienced one he let Max lead this the way he wanted and was comfortable with cause he was aware the first time kissing your own sex can complicate your senses. Daniel was pushed back by the force of kissing, he finally dared and put his hand on back of his head, fingers playing with his short hair.

Max couldn’t deny how good the kiss was, he knew Daniel was older and therefore more experienced but the reality was a lot better. He kept it light and sucked his lips between his like never before and drove Max crazy.

Max let go of his hand so he could easily cup Daniel’s face and not break the kiss, still not getting enough of the way it was happening. He put both of his hands on sides of his face, the beard under his fingertips felt so good and he couldn’t help but to rub his thumb on his skin over and over, this had Daniel to lose his control for a second and bite his lips but he liked it.

Both continued kissing until the air was completely knocked out of their lungs and they had no choice but to separate and catch their breath. Daniel looked over to see how Max was doing, he needed to know if he regretted it.

“Wow, that was the best kiss I’ve ever had” ok he definitely wasn’t regretting it and Daniel was thankful. Max’s eyes landed on Daniel who has been quiet since they stopped and he started rambling “Daniel I’m so fucking sorry man, fuck I didn’t really mean to do that, I understand if-“

Daniel leaned in and pecked his lips hard in an attempt to shut him up “you know Max sometimes you really need to shut up” the sentence was said with a giggle that Max laughed at it cause he was right.

Before standing up and leaving, Daniel’s fingers touched his hand in assurance, he walked towards the door and glanced at Max “you coming or not? I don’t know about you but I can use a warm embrace and hotel bed now”