‘What just happened?’ Daniel Ricciardo recalls feeling ‘stunned’ while meeting Anne Hathaway at the Met Gala

Fans were left stunned when they saw Daniel Ricciardo's meeting with Anne Hathaway at the 2023 Met Gala, and the Australian himself had a similar reaction.

‘What just happened?’ Daniel Ricciardo recalls feeling ‘stunned’ while meeting Anne Hathaway at the Met Gala

Daniel Ricciardo (L) | Anne Hathaway (R)

Lewis Hamilton has often attended the Met Gala, but this time around, Formula 1 was represented by a different man: Daniel Ricciardo. The Australian driver no longer has a particularly jam-packed schedule, as he is no longer racing regularly. This meant that when the invite came in – he was ready for his first appearance at the prestigious event. He met many people there, but one encounter stood out: His small exchange with Anne Hathaway.

The American starlet, most recently seen in ‘Armageddon Time’, attended the event wearing a white tweed Versace gown, with cutouts throughout the dress. Ricciardo attended wearing a customized Thom Browne three-piece tuxedo, done up in a ‘black grosgrain ribbon tweed’. When Hathaway spotted the former McLaren driver, she went up to him, saying: “Oh, Daniel Ricciardo! So nice to meet you.” and added: “Wow, I’m a huge fan of F1.”

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This left fans of the sport stunned, and it had a similar effect on Ricciardo. When asked by ESPN’s Katie George what it was like to meet the ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ actress, the Australian said: “I was just more taken back because I was just like, patiently waiting in line for the whole photography thing.” He continued: “Then yeah, she…It was more her reaction, I was like ‘Huh? What just happened?’ I was really just stunned.” and did an impression of himself, just nodding his head. starstruck.

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Asked to clarify whether Hathaway said she was a big of F1 or Ricciardo himself, the ‘Honey Badger’ replied: “Look, we can believe what we want to hear. She definitely said my name, and I think it was then followed by ‘big fan of F1’. But there was like, heavy brackets [F1 (Daniel Ricciardo)].” He added: “I remember I just said ‘Oh, that’s amazing, I’m flattered’.”

Read More: “Never saw this coming” – Fans react as Daniel Ricciardo meets Anne Hathaway at the 2023 Met Gala in a surprising crossover

Daniel Ricciardo: Trevor Noah “was like my older brother” at Met Gala

Daniel Ricciardo (L) | Trevor Noah (R)
Daniel Ricciardo (L) | Trevor Noah (R)

Lewis Hamilton has been to the Met Gala quite a few times, but this was the first time for Daniel Ricciardo. Asked whether he messaged Hamilton for advice, or ‘warning’ upon attending the event, the Perth native replied: “Prior to that [the Met Gala], I was in L.A. for about a week or so, and I actually caught up with a few friends who had been [to the event] before.” He did not want to ‘namedrop’ them. As there are no ‘plus 1s’ to the event, he deemed everyone to be in the same boat.

Ricciardo added: “There’ll be a lot of people, it’s their first time as well. So you naturally mingle and meet.” When posed on his favorites out of the people he met, he said: “Matteo Berrettini, tennis player, so we saw each other straight away. I was like ‘Oh, hey man!’. I spoke a bit of Italian with him, so yeah, we got on.” He added: “And then Olivia Rodrigo, she was really nice, I was sitting next to her on the Thom Browne table. There was just some cool conversations that I had.”

The Australian driver continued: “I’m probably gonna get his last name wrong, Alexander [tries to pronounce his name] Skarsgård. He was great.” He gave a special mention to Trevor Noah, formerly the host of Comedy Central’s ‘The Daily Show’. Ricciardo said: “I’ve gotta shout out Trevor Noah, because I’d met him before, but he was kind of like my…first friend, and he talked me through the night, and introduced me to people, so he was like my older brother. He was sweet; he looked after me.”

Rodrigo, Skarsgård, and Noah were also all dressed in Thom Browne outfits, and the American fashion designer’s outfits seemed to be best received in this year’s Met Gala. Ricciardo, too, looked absolutely dashing. Now, his focus will shift to his role as the third driver at Red Bull. After all, one can never tell when an opportunity to drive the RB19 may come up for him.

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