F1's Max Verstappen drove with dead bird stuck to car during Canadian Grand Prix
It seems that nothing could’ve slowed down Max Verstappen during the Canadian Grand Prix. And we mean that literally. The F1 driver actually hit a bird during the competition, and it rode with him for the remainder of the race.
Cameras from Sunday’s race captured a moment when Verstappen hit a bird on the 11th lap of the race. He even knew it at the time, telling his team, “I think I hit a bird!”
But he didn’t just hit the bird. Per TMZ Sports, it got caught in the right brake duct of the car. The poor bird wasn’t removed until the conclusion of the race.
It’s pretty surprising that the bird didn’t cause any issues with Verstappen’s car or the handling during the Canadian Grand Prix. But, again, nothing slowed him down.
Verstappen won the event by an impressive 9.5 seconds. It was the 41st win in F1 for the 25-year-old driver.
Sunday was clearly Verstappen’s day on the racetrack. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for the poor bird, who got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Not Max Verstappen’s first run-in with wildlife in a race
You can’t really say that Verstappen hitting an animal during a race is a common occurrence. That’s not true. But Sunday’s bird incident wasn’t the first time he’s had a run-in with an animal on a track.
In 2021, the F1 driver hit a squirrel that attempted to cross the track during the Italian Grand Prix. That event didn’t end quite as well for Verstappen.
The driver ended the race in 18th place, failing to cross the finish line.
This experience was a little bit different for Verstappen, who was still able to drive the car and claim a checkered flag, despite hitting the bird.
It’s impossible for these venues to monitor wildlife throughout the course of an event. But you’d think these animals would wisen up when Verstappen is on the track.
Hopefully, we won’t see another incident like this.