Greenpeace in 'priceless' Grand Prix protest

And the award for most innovative use of a couple of car aerials goes to…

Were you watching the Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps yesterday?

Sebastian Vettel ended up taking the race laurels, but post-race chatter was somewhat dominated by a number of protests staged at the race by Greenpeace.

The environmental organisation aimed to draw attention to what it calls the harmful activities in the Arctic carried out by yesterday's title sponsor, Shell.

"From a legacy of victory, Shell has been leading the race for extreme fossil fuels all over the world," wrote Executive Director of Greenpeace International Kumi Naidoo in a blog post explaining the reasons behind the protest.

"From fracking in my home country of South Africa, to spilling oil in the Niger Delta, to devastating Indigenous communities in Canada’s tar sands and — last but not least — risking everything to get at the oil that the melting Arctic is opening up."

Yesterday's protest featured a number of disruptions

There were the activists who dangled from the roof of the main stand and unfurled a giant banner:

(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

There was the activist who attempted to paraglide into the circuit as the race was underway:

(AP Photo/Yves Logghe)

And there was even the activist who attempted to abseil down onto the podium even as Vettel and runners-up Fernando Alonso and Lewis Hamilton were doing the usual post-race ceremony stuff.

(AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

But it was this little stunt that really took the biscuit.

As the cameras of the worlds' sports media zoomed in on the podium post-race, Greenpeace infiltrators activated a sneaky little hack that they had put in place weeks ago.

"Banner material: €50.

Four car radio antennas: €88

Embarrassing Shell on its biggest day of the year? Priceless"