Daniel Ricciardo wrote an x-rated message on his helmet for the Monaco Grand Prix as a motivational tactic, the Formula 1 star has revealed.
While the Aussie failed to make much of an impression in the race, some eagle-eyed fans spotted some handwriting on his helmet. A camera showing Ricciardo in the cockpit of his McLaren revealed that the letters "FEA" had been daubed onto the back of his head protector.
While those letters themselves are not explicit, it turned out that it was an initialism for a phrase which most certainly was. Users on social media speculated that the letters were short for "f**k 'em all" – a hypothesis which appears to have been confirmed by the racer himself.
Ricciardo discussed the topic in an interview with Fox Sports, in which he revealed he had pulled the same stunt in the past. "I put it on my [ Red Bull ] helmet in 2018 as well," he told the Australian news outlet.
He went on to insist that he had written the short message for himself, and that it had not been targeted towards anyone else. "I like to use acronyms to pump me up," he added. "It's honestly not directed at anyone – it's something that I've said for a few years, and it just kind of gets me in my happy place.
"I think as well, as a driver, you put the helmet on and that's also very significant of flipping the switch. It's one of the last things I'll see when I put the helmet on. So it reminds me to channel in and get into the zone."
The 32-year-old's 13th-placed finish in Monaco is typical of the sort of results he has been recording of late. Ricciardo scored eight points by crossing the line sixth in front of his home crowd in Melbourne, but other than that he has only managed finishes of 14th, 18th, 13th, 12th and 13th again so far in 2022.
That trend is a disappointing regression even on a hit-and-miss first season with McLaren last year. The high point came with his surprise win in Monza, but even on his worst days he was fighting for points – other than a DNF in Brazil, his worst result was 13th in Styria and Turkey.
F1 icon Alan Jones believes Ricciardo is too much of a "nice guy" to succeed at the highest level, and suggested that McLaren will soon lose patience if he cannot quickly prove that he is capable of matching the results of team-mate Lando Norris. "[His future] is questionable at the moment," Jones said.
"He is a great little race driver and he is a hell of a nice guy but, of course, we all know nice guys don't get anywhere, particularly in Formula 1." That comment comes after McLaren chief Zak Brown himself admitted that the team's expectations had not been met by the former Red Bull and Renault racer.
