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Vancouver - Sebastian Vettel has prompted worldwide glee after telling Lewis Hamilton how he avoided two seagulls sitting on the track during the Canadian Grand Prix.
The four-time champion German, driving a bright red Ferrari, said it was "the worst moment of my race" after invading the victorious Englishman’s live post-race television interview with Sky Sports on Sunday.
"The lap before the Virtual Safety Car, I arrived into Turn One and I see this stupid couple of seagulls," said Vettel, who finished second.
"Just sitting there! All relaxed! I'm coming along at speed and my car is like red, it's easy to see. It doesn't blend in like yours...
"It wasn't a pigeon. It was a seagull. I could see the beak. I didn't know their names, but they were there. It was the worst moment of my race."
Vettel locked up as he steered away from the birds and requested that the television interviewers found, and re-played, the incident to prove to an amused Hamilton that his account was true.
Vettel also took the opportunity to ask Hamilton about his Mercedes team’s pit-stop strategy for the race. Vettel took the lead from the start, but was switched by Ferrari to a two-stop plan and Hamilton, with one-stop, won.
"We were going to do a two-stop," Hamilton replied. "That was Plan A."
Vettel then explained to the presenters: "Yeah, in his shoes, you do the opposite." A laughing Hamilton responded: "He said 'Plan B' and I was like 'What the hell is Plan B? I don't remember what it is!'"
Amid general laughter, Sky then replayed the incident.
"Two seagulls – you see!” said Vettel. "I had my eyes so deep into the apex, I locked up. Mind the animals!
"Play that again. Can you see they stayed there? That's what really annoyed me. I was doing a hundred and something, and they stay there!
"If you caught those two seagulls you might prove the opposite, whatever you ever found out in history about seagulls...”
The next race on the F1 calender is the European Grand Prix on June 19 in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Sebastian Vettel heading towards the seagulls (Getty Images)
