McLaren F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo has been a crowd favourite for a number of years due largely to his fun persona that is always on display outside his Formula 1 car. However, despite building a close connection with his fans, the Australian has always been extra secretive about his love life. Interestingly, that changed over the weekend as he finally made things official with long-time rumoured girlfriend, Heidi Berger.

By official, we mean "Instagram official." In this day and age, there is no bigger way to confirm one's relationship status than by sharing a photo together on social media.

Ricciardo did just that on Instagram, by posting a carousel of images from a hiking trip with the NYU student, who happens to be the daughter of former Formula 1 driver, Gerhard Berger.

As expected, the photos were immediately pounced upon by the McLaren star's 7.3 million Instagram followers. Many pointed out that it was "about time" due to the fact that Berger had been linked with Ricciardo for a very long time. Some photos of them emerged from the paddock in October last year, but "sightings" have been reported as far back as 2019.

Ricciardo finally put an end to the speculations by sharing some photos on his personal account, albeit without anything in the caption to explain their relationship. The snaps are believed to be from a hiking trip in California.

Incidentally, Berger also shared an Instagram reel featuring Ricciardo.

Ricciardo's last confirmed relationship was with Jemma Boskovich, whom he started dating in high school until the early part of his F1 career.

Now that he has happily confirmed his new relationship, many are back to asking questions about his future in racing. The "honey badger" as he is fondly called on the F1 paddock, has failed to realise his full potential since joining McLaren in 2021. He has been consistently out-performed by his less experienced teammate Lando Norris, leading to speculations about his future with the team and in F1 in general.

Reports emerged earlier this summer that rookie driver Oscar Piastri may have a contract with McLaren to replace Ricciardo for next season despite the fact that the latter still has a contract with the Woking-based team until 2023. However, due to his underwhelming performances, the team may opt to let him go with a hefty severance pay.

No official announcement has been made, but Ricciardo expressed his commitment to the team and to the sport in a Twitter post shared in July.

Daniel Ricciardo
Fans of McLaren's Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo were out in force AFP / William WEST