"Oh my god I almost killed him" - Max Verstappen's frantic team radio as he nearly ran over a beaver

Besides fighting for positions with George Russell and Lando Norris at the recently concluded Canadian Grand Prix, Max Verstappen also had a face-off with a beaver! Yes, the Montreal race saw the Red Bull driver come agonizingly close to the rodent at high speed and almost run over it.

Formula 1 was in Canada for the ninth race of the season, where Max Verstappen claimed his sixth victory of 2024. Lando Norris and George Russell finished the race in P2 and P3. The rain-soaked race, as it happened, was eventful as drivers faced a tough time controlling their cars. Amidst this, the Dutchman encountered a beaver strolling right on the track.

"Beaver on track there! Oh my god, I almost killed him!" exclaimed the Red Bull star as he turned his car to the right and sped past.

Verstappen was leading the race ahead of George Russell, and a hit with the rodent would have led to its death, as well as jeopardized the Dutchman's race. The hit could have resulted in a loss of bodywork, which could have hampered the pace and made him lose places or suffer a DNF.

Red Bull could have left Canada empty-handed if the DNF occurred in the worst-case scenario. In a nutshell, the beaver could have given Max Verstappen and his team a nightmare.

Red Bull, Ferrari, McLaren and Mercedes are in close contest this year for the Constructors' Championship. The two British teams along with their Italian counterpart improved by a great margin to reduce their gap to the defending champions.

In such a situation, leaving a Grand Prix without a point [Perez also had a DNF later on] could have been a major blow for Verstappen's team.

However, Verstappen's encounter with his animal 'friends' is not uncommon. The Dutchman often gets to meet his four-legged friends in Singapore during F1's yearly visit to the Asian country for the Singapore Grand Prix.

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Max Verstappen's encounter with monitor lizards in Singapore

On more than one occasion, Max Verstappen has encountered monitor lizards on the racetrack in Singapore. Earlier in 2016, in his debut season for Red Bull, Verstappen witnessed a giant lizard on the track.

"Woah! There's a giant lizard on the track!" exclaimed Verstappen on the radio. Hearing this, Gianpiero Lambiase, his race engineer, replied, "Face-to-face with Godzilla then, mate?"

Coming to 2023, Verstappen found a familiar face on the track as another lizard decided to stroll through the Marina Bay Circuit. The creature, which is an integral part of Singapore's wildlife, shortly halted the FP1 session.

"There’s a lizard again on the track. It’s a smaller one this time!” informed the three-time world champion on the radio. “Okay, understood. Maybe Godzilla had a kid” quipped Lambiase after hearing the Dutchman.