SINGAPORE — The much-anticipated Formula 1 Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix 2023 culminated on Sunday (Sept 17) night with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz clinching his first win of the season, simultaneously ending the record-breaking run of 10 consecutive wins by Red Bull Racing’s Max Verstappen.
McLaren’s Lando Norris finished second while Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton took third place.
An estimated 264,108 fans flocked to the Marina Bay Street Circuit over the three-day race weekend, exceeding the anticipated attendance of 250,000 previously announced by race promoters Singapore GP.
But apart from the thrills and spills on the track, there was also plenty of excitement on the sidelines. Here are some highlights from the night race you may have missed.
F1 FANS DEVASTATED AFTER ‘GODZILLA’S KID’ SEEMINGLY KILLED BY ALONSO
A number of monitor lizards stole the headlines after they were spotted straying onto the F1 race track during the first free practice session on Friday (Sept 15).
Yellow flags were waved to warn drivers of the scaly intruders. Unfortunately, it seems like one of the lizards did not survive its adventure across the tarmac as it was likely run over by Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
Although the encounter was not broadcast live, onboard footage from Alonso’s car showed that the Spaniard was unable to dodge the reptile.
Several F1 fans expressed their distress over the revelation.
One fan declared: “The lizard got run over? I am heartbroken.”
Following the incident, Alonso has been dubbed the “Murderer of Lizards” by a Reddit thread and the collision was even recorded on the Herptile Roadkill Project, a crowdsourced interactive map which documents reptile and amphibian roadkill in Singapore.
Mr Ong and Mr Iswaran had been instrumental in bringing the F1 race to Singapore. Both of them are currently out on bail.
FANS ‘BLESSED’ BY THE SIGHT OF BUFF FERRARI CREW MEMBER
It wasn’t just the drivers who attracted the attention of (ahem, thirsty) fans.
A crew member from the Ferrari team has gone viral on TikTok for flexing his muscular forearms, to the delight of squealing viewers.
In a video by TikTok user “chubij”, several members of the Ferrari crew are seen exercising with resistance bands as a group before the camera zooms to focus on the back view of one person.
Female voices in the background can be heard exclaiming “oh wow” and “oh my God, look at that” as the man continues to stretch his arms in various ways.
The video was cheekily captioned “bless the eyes”.
@chuubij bless the eyes 👀✨ #f1 #ferrari #ferrarimechanic ♬ Smooth Operator (TikTok Remix) – Pandora's Box