Charles Leclerc on Saturday caused some concern when he reported a “cut” while leading the Formula One sprint race in Baku, but the Ferrari driver later clarified he was referring to a cat.
Asked whether there had been any recurrence of what had sounded like an engine cutout, Leclerc told reporters: “Absolutely not. I said a cat — which is different.”
“There was a cat in the middle of the road and the safety car had to stop, but I think I was probably the only one who saw that,” he said. “In the exit of Turn One there was a cat and the safety car braked.”
Photo: AFP
Leclerc, who started on pole position, finished second. Mexican Sergio Perez, the winner for Red Bull who was following Leclerc at the time, said he had not been aware of the cat.
The Baku street circuit snakes through the old town, with the track ringed with metal fences designed more for safety than to keep out resident felines determined to overcome any obstacle.
Cats, feral or otherwise, have been a problem in the past at the Azerbaijan Grand Prix with one caught on the television feed darting across the track in front of Lewis Hamilton in 2016.
F1’s race in Turkey, now no longer on the calendar, had more of a problem with stray dogs on track. In 2008, one was hit by Brazilian Bruno Senna’s car in a GP2 support race at Istanbul Park.
Viewers of the Canadian Grand Prix are also used to seeing groundhogs making a dash for safety at Montreal’s island Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.
SS Lazio on Monday fired the far-right sympathizer who handles their eagle mascot after he posted online a series of videos and pictures of his erect penis. Falconer Juan Bernabe, who has been present at Lazio home matches with Olimpia the eagle since the 2010-2011 season, posted the footage on social media after having surgery on Saturday to implant a penile prosthesis to improve his sexual performance. Lazio said that they had “terminated, with immediate effect” their relationship with Bernabe “due to the seriousness of his conduct,” adding that they were “shocked” by the images. The Serie A club added that Bernabe’s dismissal
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