‘Like Step Brothers’: Daniel Ricciardo's unlikely friendship with NFL star

Australian F1 star Daniel Ricciardo and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen have revealed the origins of an unlikely friendship.

Speaking on a pre-game segment broadcast ahead of the Bills’ Monday Night Football clash with the Tennessee Titans, Allen said the pair first crossed paths at the 2019 Monaco F1 Grand Prix.

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“We were talking and he was like ‘we’re Buffalo Bills fans’ and they had jerseys and I just thought it was the weirdest thing,” Allen said.

“I think we’re very similar in the way that we try to keep things light and we’re never too serious, even when we probably should be sometimes."

Ricciardo likened the improbable bond to that of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s characters from the movie Step Brothers.

“It’s been like Step Brothers, somehow we just became best friends,” Ricciardo explained.

“The Bills Mafia really reminds me of a lot of my friends back home, who I could definitely see fitting right into the Bills Mafia.”

Josh Allen promises to do Daniel Ricciardo 'shoey'

Allen and Ricciardo arranged to exchange helmets, before Allen promised to do a ‘shoey’ on stage, ala Ricciardo’s famous F1 podium celebration, should the Bills win the Super Bowl

“As soon as we’re up on that stage at the podium at the Super Bowl,” Allen said.

“If we get there I’m definitely taking my shoe off and doing the whole thing too.”

Ricciardo said the tribute would likely move him to tears.

“It’s crazy how it became something I didn’t think it would and if it were to end up on the stage of the Super Bowl, I’d probably cry. I’d cry happy tears.’

The duo discussed the level of mutual respect between two elite athletes at the peak of their powers and the similarities of their respective jobs.

“There’s dealing with the pressure, the split second decisions. We have to make those on track and you have to make those multiple times during a game,” Ricciardo said.

“It’s that process of how do you get yourself there. What do you do pre-game? How do you stay calm? How do you block out all the noise?’

Allen, who is the current favourite to win NFL MVP, said both he and Ricciardo learned to deal with being in the spotlight and having every action they make on the field or track heavily scrutinised.

“Both of our seasons are fairly long and you have to stay patient. You can’t let the last race or last game define what you’re going to continue to do going forward,” Allen said.

“When you’re in that driver’s seat or in the huddle, everybody is looking at you and you have to control your feelings, control your emotions and figure out the best plan of action.”

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