Daniel Ricciardo explains shoey origin: 'I felt like the tie was choking everyone'

Daniel Ricciardo has explained that the shoey was never a calculated stunt. It began on the podium after the 2016 German Grand Prix as a message to friends back home in Australia, then became one of F1’s most recognisable celebrations.

Why it matters:

The gesture followed Ricciardo from Red Bull to Renault and McLaren and outlasted his driving career. It also became a small cultural challenge to a paddock he felt was too stiff, even in victory.

The details:

• Ricciardo, who retired after the 2024 Singapore Grand Prix with 257 starts, eight wins and 32 podiums, said he wanted Australian friends to see him “proud to be Australian.”
• He called himself “a bit of a bogan” and said the shoey was already spreading through Australian social media and sport before he adopted it.
• He disliked seeing miserable drivers on the podium. “I felt like the tie was choking everyone,” he said. “Let’s undo a button here and relax a little.”
• The ritual took on a life of its own. Patrick Stewart asked to do it after the 2017 Canadian Grand Prix, and Lewis Hamilton eventually joined in despite once saying he never would.
• “I’m just glad it was always my shoe,” Ricciardo said. “I gave the people what they wanted.”

Between the lines:

The shoey looks like pure showmanship, but Ricciardo frames it as both patriotism and pressure release. In a sport that often guards its image, a deliberately unserious act became a personal brand — and a reminder that podium moments can connect drivers with fans far beyond the result.