Taki Inoue – Formula 1s unlikely hero
Taki Inoue spent a year driving Formula 1 back in the 1990s, and never scored a single point. Now thanks to the internet, he has gone on to become the most unlikely hero the sport has ever seen.
Reading through the story of Taki’s career, you can’t help but feel sorry for the guy. He ran a full season without any success, was knocked off a tilt-tray onto his head, run over by a marshall car (pictured) and promptly forgotten after failing to secure a ride in 1996. It seems like Taki just couldn’t catch a break back in the mid 1990s – but times it seems, have changed.
He finished 8th once, however is best remembered for the aforementioned incidents involving safety cars and tilt-trucks. Now at the age of 50 and with the assistance of his infectious sense of humour, Taki’s luck has shifted dramatically – he’s become an internet celebrity.
After a long hiatus from most things F1-related Taki started ‘tweeting’ his thoughts, and it turns out he’s funny – very funny. Describing his own Formula 1 career as a “nightmare”, Taki’s laid back approach to laughing at his own failures has put him at odds with what you’d expect of a professional racing driver. Fast forward to the present day, and he’s boasting a shade under 25,000 followers and has ‘tweeted’ more than 19,000 times. He’s now being paid by Lotus to do his thing on the world-wide-web – Taki is famous.
Taki’s social media efforts have gathered momentum, and now once again he’s made space for himself amongst Formula 1 fans. These are some of the best Taki Tweets:
I ‘m very proud of joining to the member of Lotus F1 team as its new driver line-up. Finally they realize my talent of the driving.
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) October 8, 2013
My most valuable collection are gravels of every single GP circuit! When I went off, my car always got a lot of gravels. I kept them.
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) November 16, 2012
Alonso says what he is fighting with is not Vettel but Newey. And what I was fighting with was not F1 car but safety car.
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) November 1, 2012
Macau GP week!! I love Macau GP. Because No W*nkers, only serious drivers. That's why I couldn't race in Macau.
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) November 12, 2012
No electricity since early this morning due to fire near my apartment. No wifi, no coffee, no heater. But my right hand still works.
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) November 28, 2012
Jesus! Kamui support donation total amount almost reaches 1.5 M euros. This amount will cover my drinking budget for 10 years easily.
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) December 3, 2012
Very disappointed with Kamui's performance today. He couldn't drive a greasy stick up a dog's arse!!
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) October 5, 2012
What? Charles Pic has officially been passed on seventy occasions as a record. More than me? Impossible! How?
— Taki Inoue (@takiinoue) December 1, 2012
