Daniel Ricciardo is not heading into this weekend’s Formula 1 United States Grand Prix as though it is his last appearance at the event.
The Australian is without a drive for the 2023 season after agreeing to part ways with McLaren at the end of the current campaign.
Ricciardo has traditionally embraced the fanfare that surrounds the US Grand Prix at the Circuit of The Americas, which on Thursday saw him enter the Formula 1 paddock while riding a horse and accompanied by a musician playing country music.
However, the usual arrival wasn’t because he was looking to go out with a bang.
“I haven’t – it could be the reality, but that’s not where my mind is,” he said when asked if he was approaching the weekend as though it were his last US Grand Prix.
“I’m not accepting that in a way. I mean, I am certainly going to enjoy the last four races as much as I can, but it’s more just because that’s probably it for the short term, if you will.
“Austin is easy for me to get up and enjoy.
“I love country music. I love kind of what our Austin or Texas represents with ranch life and boots and all that,” he added, comparing Austin to Miami, where Formula 1 raced for the first time in May.
“Don’t get me wrong, Miami is cool, but it’s kind of more common pool, if you will; it’s beaches, it’s nice restaurants, nice hotels. And that’s really awesome.
“But Texas is a bit more like, raw. You can’t find a honky tonk in every city you go, and there’s, I don’t know, 10 of them here. It’s just a little bit more unique, certainly a little more like underground, and I like that.
“And it’s an excuse to go a little weird with a beard – I feel everything’s accepted here from a fashion point of view!
“So I like it. Barbecue, music, these big things that are obviously very big here, they keep me very happy.
Ricciardo enters this weekend having made progress with his car.
He finished just outside of the points at the Japanese Grand Prix, but was only one spot back from team-mate Lando Norris.
That followed a fifth in Singapore, his best result of the season so far.
Ironically, the upturn in performance has arrived after his future was sealed, and without the prospect of a seat on the grid for 2023.
The eight-time race winner isn’t bitter that his form has finally begun to improve, and instead believes it will only serve him well heading into what remains an uncertain future.
“I also think on a professional level, the last couple races have been better, from a performance point of view; I’ve felt better behind the wheel,” he explained.
“I feel like there’s a little bit of momentum, or a little spring in my step now, and hopefully that can carry me on to the last four races.
“If anything, it keeps everyone aware that I’m still here, I can still do it,” Ricciardo added when asked if the improved performances left him sad that they’d come too late.
“I appreciate next year is going to look different but my plan, my vision is not that it’s done and I’m saying bye, it’s far from that.
“The situation in McLaren, for sure we didn’t expect that, or couldn’t prepare for that too well, but putting a plan in place, and I think we’re adapting now to set myself up well for the future, and that’s beyond next year.”
Only two drives remain on the grid for next year, one at Williams and the other at Haas.
The latter is the most appealing of those two, with the American-registered operation announcing this morning a new title sponsor for next season.
It has also seen improved performances throughout 2022, led by the returning Kevin Magnussen. In recent days, Team Principal Guenther Steiner has said that he would answer should Ricciardo call.
While flattered by the interest, Ricciardo has politely declined the seat.
“I was aware like that there’s the seat at Haas potentially available, a seat at Williams potentially available,” he explained.
“So it’s nothing new to me, I guess.
“With my team, we’re trying to put together a plan, obviously a plan that I believe in, that’s going to set me up for success.
“I’m 33, but I look at Alonso, I look at Lewis, and if I want to be here and I still have it in my heart, then I know I can.
“So it’s really not just looking now at next year and just jumping into the first available seats.
“I want to say it’s not new [knowing about a Haas drive for 2023], but it’s I’m trying to look a little bit beyond that and back myself to be winning races again.”
This video is real. We promise. 🐴 @DanielRicciardo #USGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/hWekL5T2o7
— McLaren (@McLarenF1) October 20, 2022
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