Yuki Tsunoda has been out on the streets of Faenza clearing debris and mud, while his AlphaTauri teammate Nyck de Vries was helped out by McLaren team members when he got stranded by floods.
AlphaTauri’s home town has been heavily hit by the flooding that led to the cancellation of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, with some team members needing to evacuate their homes on Tuesday night and sleep at the factory. As the water levels start to subside, huge amounts of damage is being left behind and Tsunoda has been shoveling mud off the streets alongside other team members and 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
That comes after de Vries described how he was one of those stuck due to the floods on Tuesday night, leading to McLaren helping him secure a place to sleep.
“Tuesday evening, 11:30pm, (I was) on my way to Faenza ahead of a marketing day at the SAT factory on Wednesday,” de Vries related. “It’s raining intense, Faenza is already flooded and I am unable to get to my hotel. Returning to the highway is no option either. Stuck in a little village with one fully booked hotel.
“Fortunately, McLaren got stranded there earlier and their front jack Frazer was kind enough to give me his room. The following morning, the hotel lobby turned into an emergency shelter for people who were forced to escape their homes during the night.
“Post-F1 announcement, I only saw one potential option to get home, which was driving via Firenze. After an adventurous drive through the mountains, thanks to the help from local people and authorities in different villages, I finally got home safely.
“Thank you to every single person who has been kind enough to help me. It was truly heartwarming to see so many look out for each other. My thoughts are with those who continue to be affected by this tragedy. I’ll be back soon in Faenza to meet my team and the people from the region! Forza.”
The Imola circuit only permitted limited numbers of personnel to access the venue late on Thursday to start de-rigging and assessing any damage to equipment ahead of next weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix.
