Sports isn’t unfamiliar with an intrusion from the animal kingdom. Whether it is dogs on pitches at soccer games or cats at NFL games, interruptions from our furry friends have been seen throughout the years.
But there was a unique sight in the final practice session on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Singapore Grand Prix when an adventurous lizard put a halt to proceedings.
The curious reptile ventured onto the Marina Bay Street Circuit, running around without a care in the world while cars sped past at frightening speeds.
To protect the drivers – and the lizard – the session was red flagged, meaning all drivers had to return to the pitlane while the reptile was removed.
The official Formula One X account called it the “weirdest red flag ever,” while some of the drivers were clearly perplexed by the lizard.
Mercedes driver George Russell could be heard asking: “What on earth is that thing?!” After his engineers informed him it was a lizard, the British driver replied: “A what?! It looks like a dragon!”
As the drivers returned to the pitlane, it was left to the marshals to remove the lizard from the track so racing could continue.
Two marshals – one armed with a plastic bag – got the lucky job of trying to remove the reptile, bringing about the strange sight of two people chasing a lizard down a Formula One track as it scampered away.
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The team said its ‘Legend Reborn’ livery apes the look of its cars from 1981 to 1996. The team ran in the colours of its primary sponsor, tobacco brand Marlboro, during that time.
The period covered the first 15 years after Ron Dennis’ takeover of the team and the introduction of the first in its series of MP4-designated cars. These were highly successful, delivering constructors’ championships for the team and drivers’ titles for Niki Lauda, Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna. The names of 13 of the team’s drivers from the era feature in the car’s cockpit.
McLaren’s cars also appeared in the same colours for many years before 1981, including when Emerson Fittipaldi and James Hunt won the world championship for them.
