VCARB driver Yuki Tsunoda immediately apologised on TV after saying that he “s*** my pants” during the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
It was another strong race from Tsunoda, who finished ahead of Sergio Perez for the second time in a row, as he bids for a place alongside Max Verstappen next season.
Tsunoda entered the pitlane when he hit the speed limit sign and his vehicle jumped up in the air, with the Japanese star admitting that he was startled by the incident.
Speaking to F1 TV after a P9 finish, he was asked about the scary moment in the pitlane by host Will Buxton: “You had one of the most unexpected moments of the race when you got a bit of air time in the pitlane, what happened there?!”
Only for Tsunoda to take the host by surprise and reply: “Oh yeah, I s*** my pants!”
He immediately said “sorry” and “apologies” with the 24-year-old unable to describe hitting the block in any other manner, with Buxton similarly apologising for Tsunoda’s language.
It has been an eventful few days for Tsunoda, who was fearful that he may be denied entry to the United States earlier in the week after being questioned for three hours by officials upon arriving in Nevada.
“They let me in after a couple of discussions, well, a lot of discussions,” said Tsunoda. “Actually, I nearly got sent back home. Everything is all good now. Luckily I’m here now.”
Tsunoda was left baffled as to why he had difficulties entering the States, with no issues over his visa, having travelled to the US for races in Miami and Texas previously this year.
“I had the visas and everything, been the same I guess the last three tracks right, I was able to enter smoothly previous tracks,” he explained. “It felt a bit strange I got stopped and had a proper discussion. Luckily it didn’t go more than two or three hours. But yeah, I felt it was going to be a long travel for me.
“Obviously, when you have questions and go to customs, you go individually. I went to the room, he put me in the room and we had a conversation like: ‘Can I bring the person that travel with? And maybe he can help a little bit to explain a bit more about myself and the situation in Formula One?’.
“But they didn’t allow me to bring that friend or even call anything. I wanted to call to the team or Formula One that can help me, but in that room you can’t do anything. I was wearing like a pyjama so maybe I didn’t look like a Formula One driver.
“I got a lot of pressure from them, but I was like, I couldn’t say anything. Otherwise, if I say something, I feel like I’m more in trouble.”
