Yee-haw, that was some weekend in the U-S-of-A. From McLaren Fan Heist to Daniel Ricciardo getting behind the wheel of his hero’s race car, oh and, of course, the United States Grand Prix! Both Lando and Daniel raced hard to keep us sitting third in the Constructors’ Championship and, on a weekend where rivals Ferrari had the quicker car, we were able to limit the extent to which they could eat into our slender points advantage ahead of the final five races of the 2021 campaign.

Here’s what social media made of our weekend across the pond…

Before the track action got underway, reports of a honey badger roaming the streets of Austin were coming in…

Apparently, Arrow McLaren SP drivers Pato O’Ward and Felix Rosenqvist were on the loose too…

Elsewhere, #McLarenFanHeist kicked up a gear as we took two unsuspecting, die-hard Buffalo Bills fans on an incredible journey to convert them into McLaren F1 fans:

And McLaren fans took up the ‘Heist a Friend’ challenge too, eagerly looking to cross off square after square on their bingo cards. 

Particularly liking the use of day-glo yellow à la Lando Norris here:

This definitely counts for the ‘spot a celeb on the grid that has no idea about F1’ square:

Natural Papaya? We’ll allow it @KingSunshineSeb…

And for those not blessed with natural locks of Papaya, a cowboy hat…

…and our American-football inspired jerseys will more than suffice:

Using our US GP augmented reality Instagram filter was another popular square to complete:

Both Lando and Daniel got into the spirit of things with fresh lids for the weekend.

Lando went full stars and stripes with a touch of ‘patina’:

Meanwhile, Daniel’s was inspired by his hero, ‘The Intimidator’, Dale Earnhardt’s helmet.

It was a fitting tribute and a timely one, as McLaren Racing CEO Zak Brown kept up his end of the deal he made with Daniel at the start of the season: get a podium for the team and Daniel could drive Dale Earnhardt’s No. 3 1984 Wrangler Chevrolet stock car.

Just listen to this beast – music that’s guaranteed to bring a smile to your face:

Safe to say it brought a smile to Daniel’s too. Wait, what are we saying? He’s always smiling. Make that an even bigger smile than usual!

Talk about living your best life...

…in ‘style’?

On the subject of style, dare we ask if the rest of your underwear matched your socks, @alasdairmulhern?

Zak loves a deal, putting pen to paper and signing on the dotted line in ink. But ink on skin? That was definitely a new experience for him…

Forget Belinda Carlisle’s ‘Circle in the Sand’, we were singing ‘Speedmark in the Sand’ after seeing this:

While Lando and Daniel were qualifying P8 and P7, respectively, for Sunday’s race, others were staying hydrated by opting to do a shoey during quali:

One of basketball’s all-time greats, Shaquille O’Neal was in town…

And Daniel was keen to impress:

Pato was joining in the fun at the Circuit of the Americas too:

He even put some rubber down before the start of the race...

...which Lando and Daniel might just have used to their advantage as they pounced on Carlos Sainz at the start, with Daniel able to make a move stick…

The pair would meet again in the closing stages, but Daniel got his elbows out to keep Sainz at bay and finish fifth, while Lando came home eight: enough to see us remain in third place in the Constructors' Championship, ahead of Ferrari…

…in front of a truly fantastic collection of #FansLikeNoOther:

Yes, yes, we’re going to Miami…

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves, there’s the small matter of the Mexican Grand Prix in a fortnight and four more races after that to decide the 2021 season. It’s going to be one hell of a ride! 

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