Red Bull F1’s New Extra-Long Ford Commercial Mostly Reminds Us How Damn Charming Daniel Ricciardo Is

Ford may not be joining Formula 1 as a constructor just yet, but it’s still dipping its toe back in with a new Red Bull F1 partnership. Just ahead of the latest announcement, Ford and Red Bull posted a YouTube video where two F1 drivers race a bunch of Fords, which also featured the Mustang Dark Horse SC before you were supposed to see it. Is it basically one long, 23-minute Ford commercial? Sure. But it’s still fun, even if Ford did agree to let Red Bull scoop the rest of the media on the Dark Horse SC.

That said, this kind of stuff happens, and it isn’t worth getting mad over. It’s not like one early video with minimal information somehow made the actual articles on the car irrelevant. And even if it is a commercial, it’s still a fun video. I mean, they drive a Fiesta WRC car, a 1970 Mustang Boss 302, the 2,200-horsepower F-150 Lightning Supertruck concept, a 1986 RS200, a 1924 Model T, the new Mustang Dark Horse SC, a 1966 GT40, an Australian V8 Supercar Mustang, and the Mustang GT3 race car. At the very least, it’s worth watching just so you can listen to all the exhaust notes. 

If watching F1 drivers flog some vintage Fords, a couple of race cars, and one prototype that makes more than 2,000 horsepower isn’t your thing, I get that. Especially since, while Arvid Lindblad seems cool, Max Verstappen is, well, Max Verstappen. The man can drive cars very fast, but he also has all the charisma of an old shoe, and while I don’t actually think he’s a cannibal, if he started hanging out with Armie Hammer, would you really be surprised? 

Thankfully, Red Bull also paid Daniel Ricciardo enough money to get him to show up for the last part of the video, and it definitely feels like the vibe shifts when he finally shows up on screen. What can I say, the man has charm, and you can tell everyone in the video likes hanging out with him. Was he right to retire from F1 when he did? Probably. Heck, you could even argue he should have left F1 even earlier, and you might have a point.

At the same time, it’s a great reminder that there’s more to a race car driver than how fast they can lap a race track. That matters when it comes to winning, but dang it, I’d so much rather watch an old Ricciardo interview than a lot of newer racers, just because he seems like a genuinely fun guy. Hopefully, we continue to see more of him, because how can you not like the guy? He’s just so damn charming.