Daniel Ricciardo’s friendship with Buffalo Bills’ quarterback Josh Allen has paid off immensely for the V-CARB driver at the Miami GP weekend. The honey badger was part of a football-themed challenge and thanks to his connections with the NFL star, he nailed it.
Braxton Berrios, wide receiver for the Miami Dolphins was present for this event. Looking at what Ricciardo had in store, Berrios was impressed. The challenge was simple- Ricciardo had to catch a football. However, once he caught the ball he couldn’t drop it and had to try catching as many as he could, consecutively.
calm down kangaroo man pic.twitter.com/gdnLw0Dpyv
— ফারিনা // Farina (@namedafterflour) May 2, 2024
Ricciardo did a solid job, showing off skills he learned from Berrios and he went on to catch five consecutive footballs which was a pretty high haul considering the challenge. Ricciardo just about managed to catch the fifth ball, falling onto the ground to make his attempt count.
F1 drivers Yuki Tsunoda and Daniel Ricciardo were having fun catching punts under guidance of #Dolphins Braxton Berrios, David Long and Siran Neal. Think Tsunoda, at 5-3, he got up to seven balls stuffed in his short while catching punts pic.twitter.com/qa3AZ19z9R
— Chris Perkins (@chrisperk) May 2, 2024
On the pictures of the event posted on social media, Berrios was spotted having fun, not just with Ricciardo, but also with his teammate Yuki Tsunoda. The Japanese driver, too, was taking lessons from the Dolphins’ star for the same challenge.
Daniel Ricciardo’s friendship with NFL star Josh Allen
Ricciardo, a huge fan of the NFL, supports the Buffalo Bills which certainly helped him develop a close bond with their quarterback Josh Allen. Unfortunately, Allen was not present during the challenge but he would have been proud of the Australian driver’s skills.
They spent a lot of time practicing together, and it showed its fruition when Ricciardo took to the field at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
Even outside of the NFL, Allen has been a very close friend of Ricciardo’s. For instance, the 27-year-old traveled to V-CARB’s car reveal event earlier this season to support his friend Ricciardo ahead of his full return to the Faenza-based outfit.
josh allen and daniel ricciardo’s friendship is everything to me pic.twitter.com/2zvK8fAwQo
— lesly (@bayarealeclerc) February 9, 2024
In 2022, when Ricciardo’s F1 career was unraveling following his McLaren exit, Allen was there. The Perth-born driver took a hiatus from F1 and tried his hand at commentary at the 2023 Canadian GP. During a segment, Allen walked into the commentary booth to surprise Ricciardo in what was a wholesome moment between the two friends.
Josh Allen surprising @danielricciardo on his first broadcast is everything @BuffaloBills | @JoshAllenQB pic.twitter.com/FHF5kxuCnK
— Omaha Productions (@OmahaProd) June 18, 2023
Ricciardo and Allen first met at the 2019 Monaco GP weekend. Upon learning about the former’s interest in NFL, the two of them hit things off almost immediately.