When a Monitor Lizard Possibly Died After a Collision With Fernando Alonso

It’s not too often that a Formula 1 session gets delayed due to an animal being present on the track. However, almost every time F1 reaches Singapore, monitor lizards are a common sighting, and Saturday’s FP3 had to be halted when Fernando Alonso encountered one on the track.

About six minutes into the final practice, Alonso was told on team radio to be cautious of a monitor lizard that made its way onto the track. When the Spaniard asked about the lizard’s whereabouts, he was told that the track had been declared clear.

“We are told the track is clear. But just have a look for the Lizard,” Alonso was told by his team. However, as Alonso approached the final two turns, he saw the lizard running in the middle of the track which he reported back as he went back into the pits.

“No it’s in the middle of the track,” he noted. The lizard was later chased off by a marshal on the track. While the 43-year-old safely avoided the animal this time around, he wasn’t so lucky last year when he collided with a lizard in FP1 and possibly killed it.

The incident occurred when several lizards came onto the track, causing yellow flags. Although not captured on live television, Alonso’s onboard footage suggested that it was quite difficult to avoid hitting the lizard.

Later on, the marshals on the spot where Alonso hit the animal reported the track to be slippery which could have been a subtle reference to the unfortunate incident. And it’s not just Alonso, even Max Verstappen has had his fair share of encounters with lizards on the track, including one last year as well.

Verstappen came face-to-face with ‘Godzilla’

Last year before Alonso hit the creature, Verstappen was one of the first drivers to avoid colliding with one of the many lizards that had come on the track. The incident occurred as the Dutchman was exiting Turn eight and spotted the lizard on the side of the track, causing him to swerve to avoid it.

He came over to the radio to report that “There’s a lizard on track again,” to which his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase reacted by saying, “Maybe Godzilla had a kid.” This was an obvious nod to when the Dutchman encountered a giant lizard on the track in 2016.

Back then, Verstappen exclaimed, “There’s a giant lizard on the track… ‘I am not joking.” That is when GP came up with the iconic team radio when he told Verstappen, “Came face to face with Godzilla then mate.”