Verstappen avoids giant lizard on F1 track

"There's a giant lizard on the track. I'm not joking!"

Not a sentence a race engineer or a Formula One fan expects to hear but they were the words that came out of Red Bull driver Max Verstappen's mouth during the final free practice ahead of of the Singapore Grand Prix.

As the 18-year-old Dutchman and teammate of Daniel Ricciardo came into turn three, the monitor lizard appeared on the inside of the Marina Bay circuit.

Fortunately for the lizard, it managed to scamper across the track after Verstappen passed it.

The young driver had set the fastest time in Friday's opening practice and was third fastest in the second practice just shading Ricciardo.

Verstappen, after finishing seventh at the Italian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, is sixth in the drivers' championship.