Mc Laren drivers Daniel Ricciardo loses it at photographers during F1 practice ahead of Italian GP

Daniel Ricciardo was left fuming at photographers during a practice session before the Italian GP, calling them ‘f***ing idiots’ after getting too close in a pit stop.

The 33-year-old Aussie driver almost collected one on the photographers when he was pulling into the McLaren section of the pit lane, and he was not happy.

‘These f***ing diots man,’ he yelled over the team radio.

The self-proclaimed ‘Honey Badger’ is one of the nice guys on the grid, but when it comes to getting in an F1 car – the switch is flipped. 

He had a dark, but firmly tongue-in-cheek, threat for the rogue photographers; who didn’t appear to have much clue or care when it came to proper pit lane etiquette. 

‘I’m happy to hit one of them,’ he said while waiting for his tyres to be changed.

In footage which emerged online of the incident, Ricciardo can be seen narrowly avoiding one of the men, and complaining they were taking up too much room

‘(I) still can’t get deep enough in the box with him there,’ he said as the photographers all scurried about for the best shot. 

It was a wild weekend of practices and qualifying ahead of Sunday night’s (AEST) GP at Monza. 

Despite being eighth in qualifying, a slew of penalties mean Ricciardo will start on the second row of the grid in fourth, with teammate Lando Norris alongside him in third.

Nine of the 20 drivers copped penalties, with even the drivers left scratching their heads and reaching for their calculators to figure out where they would have to start on the grid. 

Daniel Ricciardo arrives for practice ahead of the Italian GP in Monza

Ricciardo and his orange McLaren will be starting on the second row on the grid despite finishing eighth in qualifying

Ricciardo himself admitted to some confusion when he spoke to his race engineer after the top 10 shootout.

‘For a moment he said 10th and then he said someone’s got a penalty, or someone got a lap deleted, so now you’re ninth. And then he goes another one, now you’re eighth. It just got better,’ laughed Ricciardo.

‘What he told me was fifth but now what the rest of the team tells me is fourth.

‘So yeah, not sure. I had no idea, to answer your question. I knew the lap was a handful so I wasn’t expecting a crazy good position crossing the line.’

Daniel Ricciardo was pretty happy when told by a race engineer that he’d be rising four spots on the grid after a slew of penalties

It’s been a tough few months for the Aussie.

After a season full of failures, car issues and questionable tactics, he was dumped by McLaren with a year to run on his lucrative $20million contract in favour of compatriot Oscar Piastri.

Sitting 13th in the Drivers Standing, Ricciardo has finished in the points in just five of 15 races, and been nowhere near the top.

If there’s any track for him to secure the unlikeliest of victories, it’ll be in Monza. 

Daniel Ricciardo shows off his (fake) tattoo of teammate Lando Norris on his neck ahead of the Italian GP

From nowhere, and way down in betting markets, the Aussie took out the Italian GP last year with Norris in second for a one-two McLaren punch.

Ricciardo appeared to put his woes behind him, and was full of excitement for the race. 

‘It’s been a while since I’ve been towards that end of the grid and nice to do it back here of course where last year was some good memories, so who knows? I’m refilled with optimism,’ he told reporters after qualifying. 

He may not have a spot on the grid for 2023 yet, but there’s no way this ‘Honey Badger’ is giving up yet.