Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel are great F1 friends and rivals with their relationship in full flow during the 2016 Canadian Grand Prix when they discussed suicidal seagulls of all things post-race.
Before they dragged Formula 1 kicking and screaming into tackling social issues head on, Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel battled at the top of the series for the best part of a decade.
They made their debuts in 2007 and are still at it 15 years later in 2022 – although their careers have taken different paths in recent years as Vettel dropped into the midfield with Aston Martin and Hamilton came within one Michael Masi of an eighth world title.
Back in 2016 however, Hamilton was a three-time champion, with Vettel aiming to restore the good ship Ferrari to its rightful place in F1.
Their battle for victory in the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal was a classic race, but the event afterwards are more famous.
Why did Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel argue about suicidal seagulls at the Canadian Grand Prix? Were any seagulls harmed?
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What actually happened in the race?
In the race, Hamilton was on pole with Vettel P3 behind Nico Rosberg in second – very much Hamilton’s TEAM-mate than team-MATE.
At the start, Vettel rocketed into the lead, with Hamilton showing Rosberg the grass at Turn 1.
The two cleared off with Hamilton hot in pursuit of the German.
However, a Lap 10 virtual safety car for Jenson Button’s Honda engine lunching itself in the McLaren changed the race.
Ferrari pitted Vettel for a two-stop strategy, while Mercedes did the opposite, keeping Hamilton on a one.
It would mean that to win the race, Vettel would need to overtake Hamilton on track, the Briton having retained track position.
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Vettel’s final stop was on Lap 37, giving him 33 laps to close about eight seconds. Try as he might, Vettel simply could not close to within four seconds, eventually being five away by the flag.
It was Hamilton’s second win of 10 in the season while Vettel would go winless in his second year at Ferrari – but post-race, Vettel only had one thing on his mind: suicidal seagulls.
Lewis Hamilton, Sebastian Vettel and the suicidal seagulls
During their post-race media commitments, Vettel somewhat hijacked Hamilton’s live interview with Simon Lazenby on Sky Sports F1 to joke that the #44 was not “braking for animals.”
What followed was a hilarious few minutes of TV gold as Vettel protested that a lock-up during the race had been caused by him avoiding a couple of seagulls sitting at Turn 1 – although Hamilton was not having any of it.
Hamilton joked that he felt Vettel was “using the seagulls as an excuse,” which Vettel, always quick on the uptake deadpanned “Well I am a racing driver so have to find some sort of excuse!”
Eventually the clip was found was showing Vettel having to lock-up and go wide at Turn 1 to avoid flattening a couple of seagulls, “sitting there all relaxed.”
Hamilton also revealed that he had had a nasty surprise from a seagull doing his business on his visor during the race.
Vettel would dub the brave seagulls as suicidal for just sitting there, while Hamilton offered to buy him a couple.
Fortunately, no seagulls were harmed in the 2016 Canadian GP although a couple of years later, a dead bird was found in Hamilton’s brake duct in qualifying at the same circuit.
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Now this is worth another watch 
Sebastian Vettel, Lewis Hamilton, and the #CanadianGP seagulls…
— Sky Sports F1 (@SkySportsF1) June 6, 2019
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