F1's Daniel Ricciardo Talks Josh Allen, Bills, 2024 Season and More in B/R Interview

No Stefon Diggs, no Gabe Davis and no championship hopes for the Buffalo Bills?

Not so fast.

One of the team's most famous fans certainly isn't giving up hope heading into the 2024 season, especially with his good friend in Josh Allen under center.

"I think they're still in a window where they have the ability and the opportunity to go all the way," F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo told Bleacher Report. "I'm excited."

Ricciardo specifically mentioned incoming rookie wide receiver Keon Coleman as someone who has "made a lot of noise," but the second-round pick who had 11 touchdown catches last year at Florida State is just one of the replacements at wide receiver. Buffalo also signed Curtis Samuel, Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Chase Claypool for more depth at the position.

He may not be able to completely replicate the production of Diggs after he was traded to the Houston Texans and Davis after he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars, but Samuel is a versatile playmaker who can impact the game as a receiver or runner and play on the outside or the slot.

And Valdes-Scantling just won the Super Bowl with the Kansas City Chiefs.

They also have one of the game's best quarterbacks in Allen to bring everyone together as he looks to lead the Bills to their sixth straight playoff appearance and perhaps get over the hump and reach the Super Bowl.

"I've gotten to know Josh a little bit over the years," Ricciardo said. "I think that if anyone is writing them off, that's where he will shine. I think he will bring that group together so much. There's been times when we've Facetimed and he's at home and he's got literally the entire team, and they're just bonding and hanging out.

"He's definitely a people person, and that's only going to help in the situation they're in. I've got high hopes."

Those high hopes come from someone who has embraced becoming a Bills fan so much that he traveled to see Allen play at MetLife Stadium in 2022 and again in London last season. Part of that experience even included catching passes from the quarterback ahead of one of the games:

But there is still one step remaining to become a full member of Bills Mafia.

"I need to get to Buffalo," Ricciardo said. "That's a thing I've been missing. I've seen them in New York and I saw them in London, but I need to go to a home game. I do want to get to Highmark before they move on. Even though people say the stadium is outdated and that's why they're building a new one, I want to go there and experience it and the grittiness of it. Fingers crossed I somehow get there this year."

Going to Highmark Stadium before the Bills move into a new building would be another step in the genuine friendship between Allen and Ricciardo.

The pair met in Monaco in 2019 and have frequently discussed how quickly they bonded and how their friendship has grown through their respective athletic careers.

But what would that friendship look like if the pair went in on a racehorse together?

That is a question they explore in the amusing short film The Legend of Ricallen, which will premiere on Wednesday at 10 a.m. ET and 7 a.m. PT on LegendOfRicallen.com. The film, which was done as part of a partnership with Beats by Dre, follows Allen and Ricciardo as they go on quite an adventure to find the perfect racehorse.

"It is definitely ridiculous in all the good ways," Ricciardo said of the film. "Normally, filming days or sponsor days, by the end of the day you're pretty wrapped. But we could have stayed longer, we were just laughing the whole day. It was so ridiculous, and we had so much fun working together."

While fans will have to wait until Wednesday for the film, Allen and Ricciardo both posted teasers ahead of the release of Monday's trailer:

"The partnership has been really fun for me because it's something that I love and use a lot," Ricciardo said of working with Beats. "Music for me plays such a part in my racing. It can help me wind down. It can help me on the grid by shutting out the noise or pumping me up. I'll use it when I'm training. I've really loved Beats for many years. And I think also what's cool is people see me with the headphones and they're like, 'alright, that's Daniel's time and we're not going to mess with him.'"

There has been more Daniel time of late since Ricciardo has returned to the grid for a full season.

It wasn't long ago the 35-year-old was one of the best and most consistent drivers in F1, especially during his five years with Red Bull from 2014 to 2018. He notched seven race wins, including one at Monaco in 2018, and was a regular contender for podiums during that span.

However, he joined Renault in 2019, moved to McLaren after just two years and struggled to replicate that same success with just a single win in that span.

The 2023 season was an unusual one for Ricciardo, as he returned to Red Bull as a reserve driver and watched teammates Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez dominate the sport. However, it was revealed in July 2023 that he would replace Nyck de Vries on Red Bull's sister team, Scuderia AlphaTauri.

Still, he ended up making just seven starts all year because a crash ahead of the Dutch Grand Prix sidelined him for multiple weeks.

Yet Ricciardo showed enough to be given a driver spot alongside Yuki Tsunoda for RB, which was the new name for the AlphaTauri team for the 2024 season.

"It's been great," he said of his full-time return to the grid. "I definitely love being back. Twelve or 18 months ago, I felt like I needed a little bit of time off for sure. Mentally maybe a little bit lacking of confidence and lost some love for it and a bit burned out. So the time off was perfect for me. But now that I'm back, I love being back more than anything. I'm definitely going all in during this next phase of my career.

"I know there's still going to be highs and lows, but there have been some good highs this year. That's really encouraging for me. I know I can do this, and it's up to me to make sure I do it consistently and turn some heads."

Those highs and lows have come, as he is in 13th place in the standings and well behind the leader in Verstappen. But he also picked up points in the Miami Grand Prix in May, Canadian Grand Prix in June and Austrian Grand Prix in June.

Ricciardo's points have helped RB move into sixth place in the constructors standings as the team attempts to hold off Haas and battle for positioning in the middle of the grid.

While there has been no shortage of speculation about his future, Ricciardo is focused on finding consistent success for the rest of this year.

"If I look at Miami, Canada and a few races where I feel like I've definitely outperformed the car, if I could do that another handful of times," he said. "Have the types of races where everyone is like, 'yeah, he's still got it.' That's what I would like.

"And the weekends where I'm not doing something crazy, I still want to be fighting for points and find that consistency that maybe I haven't had all the time this year. From a team point of view, sixth is our target in the constructors championship. So making sure I'm doing everything I can to contribute to that."

And then maybe he can find some time to get to Buffalo for a late-season game after helping secure that sixth-place finish.