Ahead of Buffalo Bills’ Monday night game against the Tennessee Titans, quarterback Josh Allen revealed that he and Formula 1 star – McLaren driver – Daniel Riccardo have been friends since the 2019 Monaco Grand Prix. The Bills player, favourite for the NFL MVP this season, added that he would do Riccardo’s shoey if his side wins the Superbowl. 

Speaking on a pre-game segment broadcast Allen said, “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.”

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They first met in Monaco. 

“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.”

Riccardo, who will be seen in the US Grand Prix next weekend,  likened the improbable bond to that of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly’s characters from the movie Step Brothers.

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

The two arranged to exchange helmets and Allen promised to do a ‘shoey’ on stage. 

A shoey a famous F1 celebration, sported by Daniel Riccardo, in which a driver drinks the champagne from his shoes after victory. 

“As soon as we’re up on that stage at the podium at the Super Bowl. If we get there I’m definitely taking my shoe off and doing the whole thing too,” Allen said. 

Riccardo added that Allen doing a shoey would probably make him cry. 

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“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.’

Both of them also discussed about the pressure they face every game, in Riccardo’s case – race. 

“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?’

“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.”