01 May 2023 , 17:23
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Charles Leclerc couldn't mask his surprise as he relived the moment a trespassing cat forced the safety car to brake hard in front of him during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix Sprint.
The first few laps of Saturday's short-form race took place behind the safety car after Yuki Tsunoda lost a tyre. But the runaway rubber was not the only danger on the track – as safety car driver Bernd Maylander found out.
The German had to take evasive action while leading the train of Formula 1 cars when he spotted the cat in the middle of the track. The fearless feline was clearly not put off by the sound of the roaring engines – but swiftly scarpered just as the safety car braked and swerved out of its way.
Leclerc was leading the race at the time and so was directly behind the safety car at the time. He too spotted the cat and reported it over the radio after swearing, which led to some confusion in the post-event press conference.
The interviewer had mis-heard the Monegasque and thought Leclerc had said "cut". When the Ferrari driver was questioned about it, he laughed as he pointed out that he had been talking about the cat and was still surprised by what he had seen.
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"Absolutely not. I said a cat – which is different!" he said. "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?"
The safety car swerved to avoid the cat in the middle of the Baku track (Twitter/@F1)Sprint winner Sergio Perez replied: "I didn't see it, but maybe Max can adopt the cat?" That prompted a giggle from team-mate Verstappen, before Leclerc continued: "In the exit of Turn 1 there was a cat and the safety car braked. It wasn't too bad."
Perhaps the mischievous moggy was a good omen for Ferrari as they enjoyed their best weekend of the season so far. Leclerc finished second in the Sprint after holding off Verstappen, and secure his first podium of the year with third place in Sunday's main race.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth in both events to add to the points total secured by Ferrari in Baku. The 36-point haul will have been most welcome after they failed to score at all in the previous race in Melbourne, though the Scuderia still sit fourth in the constructors' championship more than 100 points adrift of runaway leaders Red Bull.