SINGAPORE - Daniel Ricciardo showcased his artsy side at the Marina Barrage on Wednesday (Sept 13), at The Art of Racing event.
The Red Bull driver swopped his racing gloves for spray paint cans as he applied the finishing touches to local street artist Zul Othman's masterpiece - a hand-painted Aston Martin DB11.
"Terrible," quipped the 28-year-old when asked to rate his art skills. "I'm not very good at drawing or creating much. It's funny because as a kid I liked to draw just for fun, but I was never any good.
"Don't ask me to draw anything... It's been 14 years ago when I did art."
However, when push came to shove, the Australian never looked in doubt and wielded the can of spray paint with great confidence - much like his racing.
He deftly applied strokes of spray paint on the front and side of the red, white and blue-coloured vehicle, before finishing off by pasting an Esso decal on its rear.
Zul, who opted for a geometric-shaped design, told The Straits Times: "Ricciardo did generally well. He followed the right steps, the timing was there. If you asked me to sit in an F1 car, I'd probably screw it up.
"Meeting Ricciardo was like meeting any other human being. For me, that's the best way to make someone comfortable... I joked with him and said,'If you screw this up, you'll buy this car.'"
Zul's work was one of three painted cars on display, and was selected for Ricciardo to work on since the other two cars - designed by fellow local street artists Raihana Abdul Rahman and Candice Phang - were already completed beforehand.
The event celebrated the new partnership between Esso, Mobil 1 and Red Bull Racing.
Announced in December last year, ExxonMobil was signed as team partner, official fuel partner, official lubricant partner, and official motor oil partner of the Austrian team for the 2017 season, replacing French oil company Total.
Besides photo-taking opportunities with Ricciardo, a wide array of activities entertained more than 150 attendees, including a racing simulator, a free instant photo booth, a mural wall and an air hockey table. A sumptuous spread of food and beverages was also served at the public event.
"The event was engaging and pretty private. It's as close as you can get to Daniel Ricciardo during the F1 season. It's cool to meet him in-person," said marketing editor Richard Chung.
