![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/XPB_1309178_HiRes.jpg\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDaniel Ricciardo has revealed the origin of his famous nickname. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDaniel Ricciardo has revealed the origin of his famous nickname. Image: XPB Images<\/p>\n
Speaking at Ray White\u2019s Connect conference in Australia earlier this month, Ricciardo said the label came from the animal\u2019s reputation for toughness despite its size.<\/p>\n
\u201cHoney badgers are cuddly and cute, super good-looking,\u201d he joked. \u201cBut when something takes what\u2019s theirs, they fight back, and I think that was sort of like my alter ego when I got behind the wheel.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ricciardo admitted he needed to develop the \u201ckiller instinct\u201d to match his easy-going personality off the track.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have had a competitor in me since when I was a kid; I was always competitive in everything I did,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the killer instinct I needed to develop and work on extracting it out of myself. I\u2019m naturally more easy-going.\u201d<\/p>\n
He credited his former trainer, Stu Smith, with helping him find that harder edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cI did have to work at it, but when I let it out it did feel kinda nice \u2013 it\u2019s nice to be a badass sometimes,\u201d Ricciardo said.<\/p>\n
The West Australian admitted that constant toughness did not come naturally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would use too much energy trying to be tough all the time because it\u2019s not natural for me. I would see other drivers who had that killer instinct from morning to night and I wished I could be like them,\u201d said Ricciardo.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people would see me laughing and joking, and they would see that as weakness and underestimate me. But I would put the helmet on and think, \u2018Okay, now it\u2019s time to be tough like the others\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Daniel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/XPB_1056823_HiRes.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Daniel Ricciardo raced with \u201cHoney Badger\u201d on several of his helmets. Image: Moy \/ XPB Images<\/p>\n
Ricciardo said that mindset showed itself most clearly in his reputation for bold overtaking moves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of drivers who could go on the track by themselves and be fast, but go on the track with 20 others and it\u2019s about race craft, and overtaking is a big part of that,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt becomes quite scary because there\u2019s some unpredictability and risk involved. You might be in third place and think, \u2018Well, I\u2019ve got a podium, do I need to risk crashing?\u2019, but it\u2019s the most fun, and I always thought it was better to crash than not try.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt got to a point [where] to me it was just instinct. You accept that if it doesn\u2019t work you can be proud that you gave it a crack. I loved it, and I felt like the competitors would see me coming and knew I\u2019d have a go, so I was already one step ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n