F1: Daniel Ricciardo horsing around ahead of US Grand Prix

McLaren’s Australian driver Daniel Ricciardo arrives in the paddock on horseback during the Formula One United States Grand Prix preview day, at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas, on October 20, 2022. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

McLaren’s Daniel Ricciardo may be without a ride next season but the Australian was sitting tall in the saddle trotting into the Formula One paddock on horseback on Thursday in full cowboy gear ahead of this weekend’s United States Grand Prix in Austin, Texas.

Dropped by McLaren in favor of compatriot Oscar Piastri, Ricciardo has not yet indicated if he is ready to ride off into the F1 sunset but showed he knows how to make an entrance decked out in a Stars and Stripes jacket, a cowboy hat, and accompanied by a guitar playing country singer as he made his way down an amused paddock.

“Did he come with a horse this morning? I thought that was photoshopped initially when I saw that,” smiled AlphaTauri’s Pierre Gasly during Thursday’s press conferences. “I’ve never seen a horse inside an F1 paddock.

“That’s the sort of thing that happens in America and I really enjoy it.”

D.Ricciardo Guest.

Horsey McHorse.

Genius, @DanielRicciardo. 😂 pic.twitter.com/Kn3zh17q8w

— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 20, 2022

One of Formula One’s more engaging personalities and popular drivers, Ricciardo said he planned the stunt to help brighten what is usually a quiet day in the paddock with no action on the track.

“(We thought) it will bring a little bit of extra atmosphere into the paddock,” Ricciardo told Sky Sports F1. “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’.”