Fernando Alonso accused of animal killing after LIZARD invasion in Singapore

Fernando Alonso on the podium in Zandvoort — Photo: © LAT Images

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Alonso accused of animal killing after LIZARD invasion in Singapore

The veteran racer appeared to hit the reptile in turn 9

Chris Deeley

Friday 15 September 2023 14:57

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Formula 1 fans have accused Fernando Alonso of killing one of the lizards which interrupted FP1 at the Singapore Grand Prix on Friday.

The evidence isn't conclusive (although it seems likely that someone will be asked about the incident later in the weekend) but a clip appears to show the Spaniard splatting the unfortunate critter as it wandered into his path through Turn 9.

This isn't the first time a lizard has showed up at the Singapore Grand Prix, with Verstappen nearly hitting an absolutely whopping specimen that he and his engineer called 'Godzilla' in a previous year's race.

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Friday's first session was yellow flagged three times for reptilian adventures, with multiple different individuals going for a wander around the street circuit – including one that Verstappen dubbed 'Godzilla Jr'.

A cold-blooded killing

That particular track invader made it safely back to the right side of the barriers, but one of the later session visitors wasn't quite so lucky. Possibly the biggest to show up during the session, it looked to have sloped off to find a less noisy spot – before deciding that, actually, the grass looked greener on the other side of the track.

That turned out to be a fatal mistake, causing marshals to replace their yellow flags with the red and yellow striped flag denoting a 'slippery surface', and presumably fetch a broom.

It's possible that FP2, qualifying and the race will see fewer interruptions of that nature, with temperatures dropping and the lizards no longer feeling the need to find a basking spot. GPFans have reached out to an animal expert to confirm.