Popularity of Formula 1 in the US due to Netflix, according to Ricciardo

Even before Netflix series 'Drive to Survive' made its appearance, Daniel Ricciardo was a well-known personality in Formula 1 because of his charisma and humour. DTS has made the driver even more popular. Appearing on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert he discussed, among other things, F1's success in the United States and the things he gets an adrenaline rush from outside the sport.

Ricciardo joked and laughed as he almost always does. Asked why F1 has become so popular in the US, he replied, “I was gonna say something serious, but I think ultimately it’s probably my good looks.”

Nevertheless, the Australian then treated the question seriously. In his view, it was inevitable that F1 would become so popular in the US. It is a sporting country and it was only a matter of time that it would happen, Drive to Survive simply accelerated the process.

'I'm an adrenaline junkie'

Apart from racing, the Australian also likes to engage in other activities. He considers himself an adrenaline junkie. Colbert asked if he has ever ventured into bungee jumping, but Ricciardo shut that down quickly. While many an F1 driver seems fearless (Lewis Hamilton sometimes goes skydiving, Max Verstappen gets on a jet ski every now and then), Ricciardo showed that this is therefore not quite the case for everyone.

“I skydived and that was already above and beyond. I’m kind of scared of heights. Bungee seems more scary, it feels more real. I don’t know, you are staring at the ground.”