F1's Honey Badger gets lift from Yorkshire agency

The project flags up the Harrogate company’s growing credentials in motorsport - it is also developing F1 e-commerce sites for Mercedes, Williams and Team Haas.

Mr Ricciardo drives for Red Bull Racing and is known as the Honey Badger for his fearless streak.

His site goes live before the start of the new season.

He is represented by Arete, a London company founded last year by Simon Bayliff, a former executive at Wasserman Media, the US talent management giant.

Mr Bayliff has a long-standing business relationship with Antony Robinson, the managing director of Lift.

Lift continues to look after marketing and branding work for cycling star Mark Cavendish, another client of Arete.

Mr Robinson founded Lift in 2003 after a successful career working for sports brands including Adidas and Fila.

He worked as managing director of a London advertising agency and secured the breakthrough deal with David Beckham to promote Police sunglasses.

Current clients include Arsenal Football Club, fashion brand John Smedley and the European Tour and Ryder Cup.

Mr Robinson told The Yorkshire Post: “To have started to work in F1 has been really exciting.

“The agency is quickly building a strong reputation for our brand work and I’m excited about the varied nature of the projects we’ve got lined up in the next few months.”

Lift has 18 employees and like many growing creative firms in Yorkshire finds it a challenge to attract talented staff to the region.

However, Mr Robinson, a keen cyclist, said Yorkshire’s cycling network continues to produce a group of good designers.

Mr Ricciardo finished third in the 2014 world championship.