Yuki Tsunoda received praise from Formula 1 fans after he was seen assisting people in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy with clean-up following heavy flooding.
The Emilia Romagna region, where the postponed Imola Grand Prix was also scheduled to take place, has experienced severe flooding after heavy rains. Yuki Tsunoda has chosen to assist the city of Faenza, where he resides and where the AlphaTauri factory is situated, in light of the cancellation of this weekend’s event.
Floods have been affecting the region for days. It was concluded on Wednesday afternoon that it would not be practical to allow the Grand Prix to take place in the impacted region. According to NIS and other sources, there have been a number of deaths related to the flooding.
Before the race which was scheduled for this weekend, teams had already traveled to the Imola track and started to set up. Given that AlphaTauri’s factory is located a few kilometers down the road in Faenza, their journey was incredibly short.
However, the race was canceled on Wednesday due to the burden that the area’s floods, which have resulted in numerous fatalities and thousands of home displacements, have imposed on emergency and rescue services.
Tsunoda might have traveled to Monaco early to get ready for the next race as he is free of his F1 duties this weekend. However, he was spotted on Thursday working to clean up streets in Faenza, one of the hardest impacted areas, among other AlphaTauri employees while holding a shovel.
Yuki Tsunoda helping clean up Faenza, the city where AlphaTauri’s factory is based in Italy ❤️
— ESPN F1 (@ESPNF1) May 18, 2023
(via radiodelta_1/IG) pic.twitter.com/gW0WiiYMij
Tsunoda tweeted on Wednesday requesting assistance for those in the impacted area. The AlphaTauri driver did this while also sharing a QR code that people might use to donate money to help the affected residents.
After a horrible night the town is heavily impacted: dust, mud, and the smell of gasoline everywhere. Currently people are struggling to find food and especially places to stay,after many have been evacuated from their own homes. Please, anything you can do to help is appreciated pic.twitter.com/NQw72LeCLy
— 角田裕毅/Yuki Tsunoda (@yukitsunoda07) May 17, 2023
According to RadioDelta1, the Japanese driver has already gathered his supplies and is ready to clean the streets of Faenza. An image depicts his teammate Nyck de Vries using a shovel while standing in a muddy lane.
The Japanese racer received a lot of praise from fans on social media. One tweeted: “We should never let him go!!! What an amazing guy.
Another said: “Yuki is amazing! He has to stay in F1. Great human being and he’s showing incredible consistency this year.
Being “stuck in a little village” along the way had prevented Nyck de Vries from getting to Faenza. Before turning around to head home when F1 announced the race was being cancelled, he was able to secure a room in a hotel owing to the generosity of a McLaren squad member who had also been left stranded there.