Sport

Singapore GP practice halted after large lizard invades track

Lizards have been a regular hazard at the grand prix

A lizard walks on track during final practice ahead of the Singapore GP. Photograph: Rudy Carezzevoli/Getty Images
Sat Sept 21 2024 - 13:25

A large lizard on the track halted final practice for the Singapore Grand Prix on Saturday as Formula One marshals tried to catch the rogue reptile.

Drivers watched in amusement as the monitor lizard, a familiar sight in Singapore, reacted to the chase with a sudden burst of speed after sauntering on to the circuit shortly after the start of the daylight session.

Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, with his team-mate Lance Stroll the only other driver on track at that time, was alerted to the lizard’s high-risk walk in the final sector. “We are told the track is clear but just have a look for the lizard,” the Spaniard was told over team radio. “No, it’s in the middle of the track,” the double world champion replied as he skirted it and returned to the pit lane.

The Sky television commentator David Croft named it Larry, suggesting it had the purposeful stride of Aston Martin’s team owner, Lawrence Stroll. The interruption was brief before practice resumed.

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Lizards have been a regular hazard at the grand prix, with Max Verstappen’s Red Bull race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase dubbing one particularly large specimen “Godzilla” in 2016.

When a smaller one emerged during last year’s practice, Lambiase suggested “maybe Godzilla had a kid”. Monitor lizards are typically shy, according to Singapore’s National Parks’ Board, unless cornered. They are also diurnal, meaning they sleep at night – a relief for organisers of the night race.