The pressure was on Yuki Tsunoda. Within days, he would compete in a Formula One race in his home country, Japan. Bad luck had forced early exits in two previous races, and speculation was rife that he might be demoted after some disappointing performances.
Yet at a fan event in central Tokyo this month, Tsunoda appeared jovial as he shared the stage with several rivals. When a moderator asked him to teach his fellow drivers a few words of the local language, Tsunoda took the microphone and chirped, "We are all slower than Yuki” in Japanese, drawing a laugh from the hundreds of fans hoisting their cellphones for photos.
It was in keeping with an impish persona and, atypically for a top-level Japanese athlete, a foul mouth and devil-may-care attitude that has inspired a cult following and an international appeal that outstrip his accomplishments so far in F1.