Daniel Ricciardo made a rather elaborate entrance ahead of this Sunday’s US Grand Prix. The Australian was seen trotting into the paddock on horseback, wearing full cowboy gear, in honour of Texas, the state where the race will be held. The Formula 1 star was not alone as a country singer played the guitar as he arrived for work in style.
Dressed in a Stars-and-Stripes jacket and cowboy hat, Ricciardo rode a horse into the pitlane as Rob Baird belted out 'Dreams and Gasoline'. “[We thought] it will bring a little bit of extra atmosphere into the paddock,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports of his stunt. “As we know, Thursdays are kind of quiet.
“So it was cool. Really nice to do it. I mean, I was a little embarrassed at first but I was like: ‘You know what, just have some fun’.” Ricciardo’s stint at McLaren is winding down after losing his seat at the Woking-based outfit and does not have a seat on the grid for next year after they ended his contract early.
The Perth-born driver has admitted his young teammate, Lando Norris, has been better able to handle the challenges of driving a difficult McLaren this season. "We have so much data, and I'll watch Lando's onboards as well. And I'll see sometimes what he's able to do, and I'm just like, 'OK, I can see it, but I can't do it'. And I'm like, why won't it just rotate, or do that?' Ricciardo told The Race.
“The race pace as well, that's been one where normally things balance out, if you can't maybe get the peak in the car in one lap in quali, by the race, it should kind of settle and yet sometimes the race pace I'm like eight tenths a lap slower. And I'm just like, how? Even in debriefs, you'll hear from Lando 'oh this stint of the race, I could really feel the car was working there, it kind of came alive' where I'm just like … I never had that feeling. At times, I'm just like, something's up. This isn't normal.”
The 33-year-old aims to use his year off to take a break and recharge his batteries with the hope of re-entering the sport in 2024. He even hinted at the possibility of becoming a test driver. If he were to reverse his decision regarding next year, Haas have offered the Ricciardo a lifeline with the possibility they may let go Mick Schumacher, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
“If he’s interested in us, he’s not shy to call me up. I am not going to chase him down," Steiner told the Associated Press ahead of this weekend's race. "I want him to decide what he wants to do for himself first before being talked into something.
“I think he’s a good driver and I don’t know how he got in the situation he’s in now, but I think he needs to come clean with himself and decide what he’s going to do." Haas are yet to renew Schumacher's contract for 2023 and Steiner suggested hiring Ricciardo would represent a major coup for his team.
“For us he would be a big hit. He was a race winner and now he is without a job," he added. “He was a race winner just last year. I rate him as a driver, I have no idea why he doesn’t perform right now. That is for him to figure out.”
