Daniel Ricciardo reveals the origin of his iconic ‘Shoey’ celebration on the F1 podium

Daniel Ricciardo claims Shoey celebration based on Australian friends

Speaking in an interview with Jim Farley, Daniel Ricciardo spoke about his decision to start doing a Shoey after each Formula One podium finish.

He noted that it was a way for him to acknowledge his Australian roots, while also trying to get a fairly conservative sport like Formula One to embrace more common traditions.

“I believe when I did it, a friend of mine kind of did some history on it. I think it was initially like a German thing. I can’t remember the exact Shoey history, but it was a few of my friends in Australia that were doing it.

“There was a group of guys who called themselves the ‘Mad Shoeys,’ and they would just go on surf trips around the world and just drink out of their shoe. It was my way. I’d lived away from Australia for a long time, but it was my way of showing Australia that I’m still Australian.

“It was definitely some of that. I always tried desperately to remain myself in a sport that, these days has changed, but 10 years ago, was still a little buttoned-up, and I wanted to try and relax the shoulders of the sport a little bit. If the sport hated it, at least my Aussie friends will give me some respect.

Daniel Ricciardo used Shoey celebration to rattle rival drivers

While Daniel Ricciardo didn’t intend to do a Shoey after each podium, a positive reaction from fans in Singapore led to it becoming a tradition.

Furthermore, Ricciardo also revealed he’d use the Shoey tradition to mess with some of the drivers on the podium he wasn’t on the best of terms with.

“Then I did it, and I really didn’t know how it was going to go down. I was thinking it’ll be a one-and-done thing… A few months later, I was at Singapore, and I got a podium.

“And after I did the first one, I was like, ‘Okay, maybe this is something I just save for when I win, a really big occasion, not just a podium.’ I chose not to do it on the podium, and in the crowd, I heard some Shoey chants, and there were some boos when I didn’t do it.

“So I was like, ‘Okay, they really want this. All the podiums I get, I just have to do it.’ And getting the other drivers to drink out of your shoe, especially if that other driver isn’t your best friend, they can’t say no, otherwise they’re going to get booed. So you put them in a pretty compromising situation.”

Ricciardo managed to earn 32 podium finishes across his career, so fans got to see him do the Shoey several times.