Formula 1 fans hailed Yuki Tsunoda after he was spotted helping locals with the clean-up effort after severe flooding in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy.
Teams had already made the journey to the Imola circuit and begun to set up ahead of the race planned for this weekend. For AlphaTauri, the journey was a very short one given that their factory is based a few miles down the road in Faenza.
But the race was called off on Wednesday, given the strain placed on emergency services in the region by the floods which have claimed several lives and displaced thousands from their homes.
Free of his F1 responsibilities this weekend, Tsunoda might have made the trip to Monaco early to prepare for the next race. But instead, he was pictured with other AlphaTauri staff on Thursday with a shovel in hand helping to clean up streets in Faenza – one of the worst affected places.
Fans on social media were full of praise for the Japanese racer. One wrote: "I'm so proud of @yukitsunoda07, he's becoming a fine leader. I'm sending my thoughts and prayers.
Another said: "This is what you wanna see out of the F1 role models, well played Yuki." And a third added: "Yuki honestly seems like such a pure and kind person – kudos to anyone doing anything to support the affected areas this week. The sport may be global but the teams are still local and connected to their communities."
On his own account, Tsunoda shared footage of the flooding and a description of what he had seen as he urged fans to support the emergency flood relief fund which has been set up. "After a horrible night the town is heavily impacted," he wrote.
"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."
Meanwhile, Tsunoda's team-mate Nyck de Vries had been unable to reach Faenza having got "stuck in a little village" on the journey. He managed to find a room in a hotel thanks to the kindness of a McLaren team member who had also been left stranded there, before turning back to go home after F1 announced the cancellation of the race.
