Daniel Ricciardo snapped looking at Hollywood star at Met Gala

Daniel Ricciardo has set the internet alight after being spotted with a Hollywood heart-throb amid the glamour of the Met Gala.

Aussie Formula One star Daniel Ricciardo has been caught out at the 2023 Met Gala, photobombing Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway on the red carpet.

The 33-year-old Red Bull driver follows Lewis Hamilton as the latest representative from motorsport’s most glamorous series to make an appearance at the exclusive Gala, the theme for which this year celebrates the late designer Karl Lagerfeld.

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Ricciardo stepped out in a Thom Browne three-piece tuxedo with wide pinstripes and chunky patent-leather boots, and sent social media into a frenzy when he was spotted in New York, with most fans not expecting his appearance despite his strong interest in fashion.

Actor Anne Hathaway on the red carpet at the 2023 Met Gala, as Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo looks on in the background. Photo: Twitter

Daniel Ricciardo has more time on his hands this year as a 2023 reserve driver. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

“Daniel Ricciardo is so real because this would so be me if I saw Anne Hathaway,” said one Twitter user.

“Tag yourself, I’m Daniel Ricciardo looking at Anne Hathaway,” said another.

While Ricciardo is clearly a fan of the Academy Award winner, it seems the feeling is mutual, with Hathaway recorded meeting Ricciardo and appearing to tell him she was “a huge fan of F1”.

anne hathaway and daniel ricciardo meeting! turns out she’s a f1 fan 😭 pic.twitter.com/IRSM6dDfac

— k ❁ (@honey_ricc) May 2, 2023

While Hathaway stunned in a white cutout safety-pin dress designed by Versace adorned with gold pins and pearls, Ricciardo copped it from social media for his efforts, with the Met Gala typically one of the fashion world’s most innovative and spectacular runways of the year.

Despite being dressed by iconic designer Thom Browne, the simplicity of Ricciardo’s outfit dissapointed some on social media.

“He gave us absolutely nothing for someone dressed in Thom Browne,” said one Twitter user.

📸 | Official photo of Daniel Ricciardo at the #MetGalapic.twitter.com/POT9y6kHsp

— RBR Daily (@RedBullUpdates) May 2, 2023

“Ricciardo is in Thom Browne? How do you flop this bad?” asked another.

“Thom’s clients have been eating up and down that red carpet … so why that suit?” wrote a third.

“Leave it to Daniel Ricciardo to make Thom Browne look weird,” said another.

Motorsport journalist Hazel Southwell said she was “not interested in Daniel Ricciardo’s Met Gala look unless it’s a Stetson and board shorts. Be true to yourself, guy,” referencing Ricciardo’s love affair with all things American.

Ricciardo wasn’t the only sporting star on the red carpet in New York, with tennis legends Roger Federer and Serena Williams as well as basketball star Russell Westbrook all spotted.

He also wasn’t the only Australian, with Nicole Kidman, Baz Luhrmann, Hugh Jackman and Margot Robbie also making an appearance.

In 2021, Ricciardo expressed that the event was too “formal” for him in a podcast after fellow driver Lewis Hamilton was invited to the exclusive bash, stepping out in a bold net skirt and lace shirt.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure it would an experience, but I don’t know. It seems a little formal for me,” he told the Pardon My Take podcast in 2021.

Daniel Ricciardo at The 2023 Met Gala. (Photo by Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for The Met Museum/Vogue)

Daniel Ricciardo at the 2023 Met Gala. Photo: Instagram

Ricciardo has much more time for extra-curricular activities having stepped back from the full-time grid in 2023, after having lost his race seat at McLaren to compatriot Oscar Piastri.

The West Australian recently opened up on the failures of his time at McLaren, admitting he was “humbled” by his two years of misery.

Ricciardo maintains he still has value to add to any team that wants to sign him, and would bring a wisdom that his younger self didn’t have.

“I don’t want to say I got humbled, because that’s probably too dramatic,” Ricciardo told The Athletic.

“I didn’t have my head up my a***. But in a way, I got humbled, and I did realise that OK, I’m not perfect.

“If I was to get back on the grid, of course the hunger would be filled to the top.

“But it wouldn’t be coming from a place where my ego or pride is getting in the way.

“It’s accepting that it’s not always going to be perfect. It’s just a reality of life.”

Ricciardo has a history of wearing extravagant outfits, but kept it toned back for this year’s Met Gala. Photo: Instagram

The Honey Badger has been stuck on the sidelines with Red Bull this year. (Photo by Mark Thompson/Getty Images)

Ricciardo said he isn’t fully committed to a comeback, but says the feeling is “brewing” inside of him.

“I’m trying to put myself in the mindset of, if I was competing, how would I feel? Where’s my energy at?” he said.

“I want all those answers now so I can get into next year with a clear plan.

“I’m glad I’m not foaming at the mouth (at not being on the grid), because then I’d probably be questioning s***, ‘should I have taken the year off?’

“But it is brewing.”

Ricciardo noted that regardless of the state of his racing career in an ever-uncertain Formula One world, he’s happier than he’s ever been, and that the people around him have noticed the return of his trademark Colgate smile after a tough 2022.

“The bad days would (last year) then flow into my weeks,” he said.

“Then I would have bad days as normal days when I’m not at the track.

“I was just not a good person at times to be around.

“I feel it (being happier in 2023).

“But when other people that know me well recognise it, I guess it’s true.”