FORMULA ONE was gripped by a feline frenzy during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix, thanks to an adorable special guest.
Baku has seen its streets transformed from a bustling city centre to a frantic F1 paddock as the glitzy motorsport rolls into town.
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But as superstar celebrity drivers such as Max Verstappen and Lewis Hamilton arrived in the paddock for media duties on Thursday, they were upstaged by a special guest.
A cute kitten stole the show in Baku as team social media admins, photographers, mechanics and fans all rushed to get a glimpse of the king of the catwalk.
The tabby was seen strolling and rolling around throughout the day, leaving everyone obsessed as it became an instant star.
Remarkably, F1 staff evicted the kitty from the paddock TWICE for safety reasons, before it returned to carry on mingling with its ardent admirers.
However, the so-called “Baku Paddock cat” could soon be fashioned with a new name.
F1 photographer and content creator Kym Illman took to his social media platforms to ask fans to come up with an F1-themed name for the kitty, with the best set to be chosen as its new moniker.
One fan suggested: “Safety cat.”
A second said: “Furrari.”
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A third added: “Paddy.”
Another said: “Mr. McClawren, at your service.”
A fifth fan said: “Max Purrrrrrrstappen.”
The Mercedes team social media admin gave the kitty a special mini helmet to play with and referenced their very own Kimi Antonelli in their own suggested name: “Kitty Antonelli.”
The likes of Red Bull star Verstappen is known to be a huge lover of cats, while the mum of Williams star Alex Albon issued a plea for her son to bring the cat home with him.
Taking to the Instagram account, @AlbonPets, she asked: “Hi. If you go and find Alex at @williamsracing, you can ask if he can give you a lift.
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“Plz tell him that Mummy & the big sisters say you can come and live with us at home.”
The Thai-British driver already has a head-spinning 13 cats at home, plus a dog and a horse.
Albon has already admitted to having difficulties remembering all of their names, so adding another to the mix may not be the best idea for him.
His old team Racing Bulls, also aggressively petitioned to adopt the kitty, posting a slideshow on their social media with their one reason being a picture of the cat as it lay on the ground.
However, this weekend’s on track business comes with the drivers championship down to 31 points after a controversial swap order between McLaren stars Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris at the Italian Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Verstappen – who won that race – can now drive in the Nurburgring 24 Hours race later this month after earning his A Permit at the infamous track in Germany last weekend.
