F1 drivers De Vries, Tsunoda affected by floods in Italy

Floods which have killed at least eight people and caused more than 10,000 to be evacuated from their homes forced the race to be called off on Wednesday. The track is next to a swollen river. F1 said it wanted to avoid further burdening emergency services

Formula One drivers Nyck de Vries and Yuki Tsunoda have shared stories of struggling to get out of the deadly flooding in northern Italy after this week’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix was cancelled.

Floods which have killed at least eight people and caused more than 10,000 to be evacuated from their homes forced the race to be called off on Wednesday. The track is next to a swollen river. F1 said it wanted to avoid further burdening emergency services.

De Vries and Tsunoda drive for AlphaTauri, which is based in Faenza, a city close to the Imola track and which has been flooded.
Dutch driver De Vries said he was trying to reach the Faenza factory on Tuesday night ahead of marketing events scheduled for Wednesday, but the roads were cut off.

“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,” he posted on Instagram on Thursday, recounting his experience with pictures and video of roads blocked by landslips.

“Fortunately McLaren got stranded there earlier and their front jack [mechanic] Frazer was kind enough to give me his room.” His teammate Tsunoda, who began living in Faenza in 2021 to work with AlphaTauri, said the city was badly hit.

“After a horrible night the town is heavily impacted: dust, mud, and the smell of gasoline everywhere,” the Japanese driver posted on social media on Wednesday. “Currently people are struggling to find food and especially places to stay after many have been evacuated from their own homes.”

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