Daniel Ricciardo is going full Texan for the U.S. Grand Prix this weekend in Austin.
The McLaren star showed up to Thursday's press conferences wearing an all-black outfit capped with a cowboy hat and a handlebar mustache. And in an interview with Formula1.com, the Australian driver took it an extra step by attempting to put on an American accent for the whole conversation.
Ricciardo sits in eighth place in the current drivers' championship standings with 95 points. His best performance of the season was a win at the Italian Grand Prix, which was his first since Monaco in 2018 when he was competing for Red Bull.
McLaren CEO Zak Brown made a bet with Ricciardo that if he scored a podium for McLaren this season, the Aussie would get a chance to drive Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s 1984 Wrangler Chevrolet Monte Carlo. The win in Monza by Ricciardo sealed the deal and was half of a McLaren 1–2 as Lando Norris finished right behind him.
When asked about his excitement to get behind the NASCAR stock car, Ricciardo kept up the American act.
"Well hell boogedy I'm very excited because Earnhardt was an absolute hero of mine," Ricciardo said in his Texas twang. "To be able to drive the 84 Earnhardt car, I believe he won five races in that car, it's special. The livery is amazing. The Wrangler jeans. The blue and yellow. The big three on it. It's crazy. So you know, in this calendar year, I got to drive a hero in Senna's car in Goodwood and boy, in a few days' time I want to drive Earnhardt's. So it's a real pinch-me moment."
Netflix already followed around Ricciardo and the McLaren team in Italy for the upcoming season of Drive to Survive, but the show should totally include some footage of his new Ricky—er, Riccy—Bobby persona.
