Daniel Ricciardo may hail from Australia, but the now ex-Formula 1 driver has adopted the United States as his second, spiritual home — and without his presence on the grid, the upcoming Grand Prix in Austin, Texas may not feel the same.

But we may still see a cowboy-hatted Ricciardo meandering through the paddock during the United States Grand Prix, as race promoter Bobby Epstein promised to “keep him busy” with plenty of off-track fun.

US Grand Prix promoter: “Daniel Ricciardo may have as big of an impact out of the car as he has in it”

In the build-up to September’s Singapore Grand Prix, it slowly became clear that Daniel Ricciardo’s seat at VCARB was under threat.

The Australian had failed to perform, and Helmut Marko had begun to suggest that VCARB shareholders were keen on the team returning to its former status as junior outfit training young drivers for Red Bull Racing properly.

After a miracle weekend failed to materialize in Singapore, VCARB announced that Ricciardo would be replaced by Liam Lawson, effective immediately.

That was bad news indeed for US Grand Prix promoter Bobby Epstein. Over the years, Daniel Ricciardo has fully embraced the Texas spirit, turning up at Circuit of The Americas with cowboy boots, ten-gallon hats, and most memorably, an entire horse.

But if Ricciardo still wants to make the trek to Austin, Texas, well, US Grand Prix promoter Bobby Epstein would love to have him.

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“Daniel, he may be able to have just as big of an impact out of the car as he has in it at our grand prix,” Epstein told RACER.

“I’m not sure that necessarily people are buying tickets to come see him race if he’s not in a competitive car, right? So if you’re coming because he’s part of the the F1 community, I think he can still be part of the F1 community in a pretty meaningful way.”

With Red Bull keen to retain Daniel Ricciardo’s services in an ambassadorial capacity, there’s still a distinct possibility that the Australian may be contracted to head to Texas, anyway. However, because the US Grand Prix is ​​the first F1 event taking place after he was dropped at Singapore, wounds could still be too fresh.

Still, Bobby Epstein is hoping a hatted-and-booted Danny Ric arrives in Austin ready to mingle.

“He’s really, really loved in Texas, and I think he likes it here,” Epstein added.

“And so I would hope that he makes himself available more to the fans than he would otherwise be if he had an obligation in the car.

“I hope he’s still coming here, because we got a lot of people that would love to shake his hand or get his autograph or take a picture. Just see him around town.

“We’ll keep him busy.”

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