-Welcome to The Daily Show. -Thanks. W...
This is so, so, so good having you here.
Uh, I've been a fan of Formula One my entire life.
I know most Americans are like, "What is that?"
-(laughter) -Mm-hmm. -But now that is changing.
And I think a lot of it has to do
with this new show on Netflix.
Ha-Have you felt the change in your life?
Because you-you... you were one of...
It is... it's not even an exaggeration to say.
You are one of the best drivers--
not of just that-- of, like, drivers in the world.
-Like, that's who you are. -Yeah. I guess.
-(laughter) -Thanks. -Well, not "like." You are.
-Yeah. I guess. Uh, no, I am. -(laughter)
I'm very, very modest. Um...
Judging by the-the audience here,
I-I definitely feel the, um, F1's becoming...
It's-it's become much more of a thing here in the States.
-Yeah. -You know, Drive to Survive put it on the map.
Um, and it's been cool. You know, I spent a bit of time
in the States, and up until a year ago,
not really anyone would say "hi" to me.
Um, not-not in a bad way, but rec-recognize...
(laughter)
-Recognize me for... for being an F1 driver. -Right.
And now it's all, "Yeah, we saw you on Netflix.
It was great. Drive to Survive."
And, um... and we touched on it before.
You know, we wear helmets, so not really many people
can see our face a lot of the time,
so putting a name... or a face to a name--
-is that what you say? -Yeah, yeah, yeah.
The face to the name.
And I think a face to the sport as well.
One thing that I know a lot of people have loved about you
in the show is getting to know Daniel Ricciardo.
So, I mean, those who know you in the sport,
like, a lot of people refer to you as the Clown Prince.
-You know? They'll be like... -(laughter)
No, they go like... 'cause you're also one
of the most charismatic drivers.
A lot of the drivers are very serious.
They're like, "I drive." You know?
That'll be, like, the interview. They're be like,
"What do you like?" "The car was fast. We drive."
-(laughter) -You're always making jokes.
Like, a race won't go well, you'll-you'll take it
and be like, "I'm gonna get faster,"
but you always make a joke about it, you have fun with it.
Is that... is that because you're Australian?
(laughter) -Is that because of your fam...
No, I really want to know, like, why you're so...
so chilled and still so good.
Uh, well, firstly, I think those others that...
are a little bit, um... like that,
-Yeah. -they don't help the sport.
They don't help it, and, uh, no, I think, you know, for me,
I've... I think growing up in Australia, you know,
growing up with sunshine and, uh, you know,
live close to the beach, it's-it's kind of just, uh,
I don't know, it turns your personality
-into a bit of happiness. -Yeah. -(laughter)
And I'm doing, like, I'm doing my dream job, you know?
-And it's... -Right.
you have to be reminded sometimes.
You know, you get so competitive and sometimes so caught up in it
that you do forget, like, a little bit of perspective.
And, uh, it is my dream job-- like, I travel the world
to drive cars in circles, which is pretty awesome, so...
-I mean, there's some turns here and there, but... -Yeah.
Yeah, yeah. You... I mean, the way you described it
made it sound like a traveling Uber driver,
-but that's not... -(laughter)
I don't think that's what you meant.
Because you go around... there are...
For those, like, people who don't know the sport,
you know, Formula 1 is a sport where you have the fastest cars,
ostensibly, in the world, that can corner faster than anything.
Is it true that you can drive that car
upside down in a tunnel? I've heard this said many times.
-Can you? -Yeah. I've never done it.
-Um... -But you... they say you can, right?
Yeah. So, through-through the, um...
-It's called downforce. -Right.
So, the cars are very...
um, let's say aerodynamically sound
that, uh, they-they produce...
What is the grip is a lot of this downforce.
-Yes. -So it's like... the car is like a vacuum to the track.
So I guess at a certain speed,
we could pretty much go upside down in a tunnel,
and the vacuum effect would keep us...
-upside down. -I-I think you should do that.
Yeah. It'd be... It'd make great TV.
There needs to be one racetrack
-where every car has to go upside down. -Yeah.
-(laughter) -Let's... Let's let...
Let's let Vin Diesel try it first.
(laughter)
Um, you-you grew up in a world
where you wanted to be a race car driver.
Um, what a lot of people don't know about this sport
is how hard it is to get into the sport,
how hard it is to stay in the sport.
You have so few drivers who are competing for every single spot.
The story that we saw about you is really interesting,
you know, because you were at Red Bull.
You-you were having a really successful season,
and then you decided to take a chance and move to Renault.
They were changing their car. They were changing engines.
They were changing, really, what they were doing,
and you took this chance.
Like, is that, like, challenging as a driver?
'Cause it's not just you but it's also the car, as well.
Is that... Is that ever, like, a tough situation to be in
as a race car driver where it's, like,
your talent versus the car's talent?
Yeah, absolutely. That's... You know, there's...
It's probably the one thing I-I dislike
about my chosen profession, you know?
It's-it's... Unfortunately, it's not like tennis
where you can only blame the racket so much, you know?
-It's-it's pretty much... -(laughter)
I mean, some-some like to smash the racket a few times.
But, uh, anyway, um, there... You know, it is...
There is a lot of equipment.
It is a very equipment-dependent...
But, you know, that's-that's the sport.
And then, you know, your-your job
is to try and put yourself in the best team
-to give you the best equipment. -Yeah.
But, uh, it's-it's like
a technology, you know, battle,
um, with the manufacturers.
And it's-it's crazy.
But, you know, I think to get on the grid
-and there's, you know, 20 drivers... -Right.
Um, that's obviously an achievement in itself,
but then you obviously want to be the best
and-and get yourself at the top.
You've seen yourself on the podium multiple times.
You know, you've had opportunities
to pop the champagne and celebrate.
I can't imagine what that feeling must be like.
I've always wanted to know though, as an F1 driver,
how do you drive in real life?
(laughter)
Like, if I was on the freeway,
-would I know that it's you? -(chuckles)
Or would I be disappointed to see that it's you?
(chuckles) Probably disappointed.
Um, I-I feel like you're all expecting
a-a pretty fun answer,
but it's... it's not.
-Uh... -Are you just, like, a chilled out,
-like, just cruise along? -Yeah. Yeah.
-Do you sing in the car? -Yeah, I do.
I feel like you're singing-- Yeah, you seem
-like the "sing in the car" type. -Yeah.
I-I-- All I need is my music in the car,
and-and I'm-I'm good.
-So, um... And I... -Do you ever sing
-while you're driving on the racetrack? -Yeah.
-Like, in your head? -Yeah.
-Oh, man. -'Cause sometimes the race might be a bit,
-like, boring, I guess, so... -(laughing)
I got to entertain myself. (chuckles)
What is the best song you sing while racing?
Like, what is a song where, like, it just gets you going
-when you're going around? -Um...
Aw, I'm on the spot now. Uh...
'Cause, like, I know when I'm-- when I'm driving fast,
-I'll sing Shakira. -Ooh.
Like, always. ♪ Oh, baby, when you talk like that ♪
♪ You make a woman go mad ♪
(muttering lyrics) That's, like, my...
That's-that's my thing. I love it.
(cheering and applause)
Do you have anything?
-I guess the question-- Well, two questions. -Yes.
Did you love seeing her yesterday?
-Yeah, yeah, of course. She was amazing. -And...
your hips, do they lie?
(laughter)
(whooping)
(cheering and applause)
This interview just became R-rated,
-so we're gonna have to end it. -(chuckles)
Thank you so much for being on the show, my friend.
Really great to have you here.
Season two of Formula 1: Drive to Survive
will be available on Netflix February 28.
You'll really want to watch the show. So amazing.
Daniel Ricciardo, everybody.