His first appearance was a one-off race for Simtek at the 1994 Japanese Grand Prix, from which he retired.

[2] The first occurred after a practice session at Monaco, when his stalled car was being towed back to the pits when it was hit by a course car, driven by Jean Ragnotti, causing it to roll into the barriers, although Inoue was fit to race the next day.

The second happened on Hungarian GP on live TV worldwide – attempting to assist the marshals in putting out the engine fire which had forced him out of the race, a safety car Tatra 623 driven to the scene by a marshal hit him, injuring his leg, although he recovered for the next race.

Entering the 1996 season, Inoue lobbied Tyrrell for a drive, but the team chose Ukyo Katayama with his Mild Seven sponsorship money from Japan Tobacco.

He is also known for his self-deprecating humour, as Inoue publicly proclaimed himself as the "worst driver in Formula One", admitted that he initially had no idea what a pit stop was, and in an interview with the Top Gear magazine in 2015 stated that he was "not good enough to drive in F1".