Why Daniel Ricciardo is always smiling

Daniel Ricciardo – A happy man who can retire rich after 2020 if he so chooses

The lawsuit against Daniel Ricciardo by his former business manager Glenn Beavis, who claiming about $13m in unpaid earnings, reveals why Daniel Ricciardo is always smiling. As we have reported, Ricciardo switched to Renault to pad his retirement nest egg, and it appears that is now confirmed.

From the court filing – The value of the Renault Contract includes at least:

(i) a fixed fee salary of US$ 55 million over two years – 2019 and 2020;

(ii) the payment of the cost of Ricciardo's documentation and/or license required by the FIA to enable Ricciardo to compete in the Formula One Championship, worth approximately US$ 500,000;

(iii) the provision of a Renault road car for personal use by Ricciardo over the term, with the costs of insurance, road tax and maintenance to be borne by Renault, estimated to be worth US$ 30,000; and

Ricciardo is no where near the highest paid driver in F1, but his salary is more than the entire IndyCar field combined

(iv) payment of the cost of a physiotherapist and medical expenses for Ricciardo up to an amount of £100,000 for the 2019 Formula One Championship season;

(v) the unusual and valuable right for Whitedunes to sell advertising on: substantial parts of the Renault team kit worn by Ricciardo, including on his crash helmet, his team cap and his racing clothing, and the Renault team kit worn by others of the Renault team, estimated to be worth in the region of US$15 million;

(vi) a season-end bonus of up to US$ 10 million, conditional on the overall performance of Ricciardo in the F1 Championship on completion of each F1 Championship Season during the term;

(vii) a one-off bonus of US !1 million for the first Grand Prix in the F1 Championship won by Ricciardo during the term; and

(viii) the provision of the winning car (excluding engine and gearbox) at end of the season in which that win occurs worth about $2,000,000.