Formula 1 heads Stateside this weekend for the United States Grand Prix and no-one embraces the race at Austin quite like Daniel Ricciardo.
While he might be Australian it seems part of Texas lives inside the Red Bull driver who is regularly seen enjoying much that American culture has to offer.
“Damn, I love the city of Austin and the country of America, I think it’s beautiful,” he commented.
And when it comes to doing his job of racing cars at the Circuit of the Americas, well he’s even more in heaven.
“Firstly, I think it’s one of the best circuits we go to on the calendar for racing,” Ricciardo continued.
“You can pass in four different places. There’s some tracks you struggle to pass on once, so to have four different opportunities with the shape of the corners and the apexes, everything just creates a real good atmosphere which encourages you to battle.
“It encourages you to fight. Fight in the spirit of America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.”
For the 29-year-old, the experience COTA provides isn’t just limited to the layout which offers almost everything a driver wants from a circuit.
“Boy, I love the feeling of racing at COTA. Beyond that, it’s also a great circuit for the spectators. If you get perched up on the hill at Turn 1, boy, you can nearly see the whole circuit,” he adds.
“Turn 1 is a great place for the start, for overtaking and pit stops. If there’s racing out of the pits you’re in the prime seat, that’s right, prime seat.
“Then you’ve got the COTA Tower. If you know someone, who knows someone, who might just know someone and you can get up the COTA Tower you’ll have a whole view of Austin, hell, that’s really something special.”
Being a country boy though, every aspect of the weekend is perfect.
“Don’t get me started on the great city of Austin,” he declared. “I’m not gonna drop names on y’all now and give away all the places we go because I love’em all, but the food is something special.
“I love my ribs, my brisket and boy, they got nachos coming out of their tachitos. What’s a tachito, I have no idea!
“I feel when I talk in this accent, I become this person. Oh boy, I’m gonna stop this right now as I got a bit carried away. See y’all in Austin.”
