As always, the Australian Grand Prix in 2006 was an eclectic buffet of fame and power – with everyone from actress Amanda Bynes to the Dutch Prime Minister, a 70s pop star, and the original Blue Wiggle treading pit lane.
Unnoticed in a corner, making small talk with Italian driver Jarno Trulli and former Miss Universe Jennifer Hawkins, was none other than 16-year-old Daniel Ricciardo.
The Perth boy had won a pass to the race – having been crowned Australian go-karting champion the year before – and on that day in April his world shifted.
Family friend and then mentor Remo Luciani jokes it was meeting Hawkins that did it: “He was practically drooling.”
But while rubbing shoulders with Formula 1 stars and feeling the rumbling roar of their engines, the shy teen got his first real taste of the life he was doggedly chasing.
“I think he saw the picture – ‘this is where I belong, this is what I want to do’,” Luciani tells the BBC.
Fast forward a few years and he’d not only become part of that world, but “a main character” in it.
But after 13 years in the sport – with an impressive 257 races, 32 podiums, and eight wins – his F1 career came to an end last week, after Red Bull dropped him from its team.
He bows out as one of the most successful and popular drivers on the circuit and the golden boy of Australian motorsport.
