Entertainment

Amputee racing driver drinks from his prosthetic leg after podium finish

Billy Monger lost both his lower legs after a crash in 2017.
Billy Monger lost both his lower legs after a crash in 2017. Billy Monger lost both his lower legs after a crash in 2017.

British racer Billy Monger celebrated a podium in the British Formula 3 championship with his very own take on Daniel Ricciardo’s “shoey”.

Monger, 19, had both his lower legs amputated in 2017 after a high-speed collision with a stationary car at Donington Park while competing in the Formula 4 championship.

He has since made his return to the racetrack however, and enjoyed his first podium finish of the season at Spa Francorchamps, celebrating with his own version of Ricciardo’s trademark celebration, drinking not from his shoe but from his prosthetic leg instead.

The shoey celebration is a favourite move of Red Bull Formula One driver Ricciardo, who can often be seen drinking from his sweaty shoe after a victory.

The race was won by championship leader Linus Lundqvist, with Tom Gamble in second and Monger third.

Monger’s return to racing has inspired many, with the promising racer determined to fulfil his potential on the track.

Monger also received kind words from Nathalie McGloin, a racer who is paralysed from the chest down and who competes against able-bodied men in a hand-controlled Cayman S in the Porsche Club Championship.

The world of motor racing will doubtless see far more celebrations from Monger in the years to come.