Cat on the track during Azerbaijan F1 sprint race 2023

Formula One F1 - Azerbaijan Grand Prix - Baku City Circuit, Baku, Azerbaijan - April 29, 2023: Charles Leclerc the leading Ferrari driver was misunderstood over the radio when competing in the sprint race which takes place these days before the main race.

He reported a cat on the racetrack but his team heard the word 'cut' and believed that he was reporting an engine cutout - misfiring, I guess. 

He clarified after the race when interviewed by 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 added:

"In the exit of turn one there was a cat and the safety car braked."

The reason why a cat got onto the track is because the circuit snakes through the old section of Baku. The fences around the circuit are not designed to keep animals out it seems but to protect spectators.

Maybe the organisers need to do something about that. They won't as it was 'only a cat' and it would be too expensive to make alterations.

But if the cat had been struck it might have resulted in a serious crash.

The incident is not shown on the video but here it is in any case: