Daniel Ricciardo proves motorsport cooler than cricket, golf

Based on global online news media data gathered by Meltwater News between January 1 and December 5, 2014, West Australian Formula One star Daniel Ricciardo pipped the likes of cricketer Michael Clark, golfer Adam Scott, tennis ace Nick Kyrgios and AFL heavyweight Lance "Buddy" Franklin, accruing 208,687 online media mentions.

Topping second place getter Kyrie Irving (a Melbourne-born NBA player currently teammates with superstar LeBron James) by more than 105,800 mentions, Ricciardo - marking his first year as a full-time driver for Red Bull Racing - trumped his predecessor, Mark Webber, by more than 193,200 mentions.

Ricciardo, 25, ended the 2014 F1 season in third place in the drivers' championship, behind Mercedes-AMG's Nico Rosberg and World Champion Lewis Hamilton.