- Lewis Hamilton struck a groundhog during Sunday’s race in Montreal
- The seven-time world champion said: ‘That’s devastating. I love animals’
- Oscar Piastri’s mum Nicole tweeted: ‘RIP little groundhog. (not your fault Lewis)’
New footage has shown the moment Lewis Hamilton ran over a groundhog at Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix in an incident that left the Ferrari driver ‘devastated’.
Groundhogs have been familiar, if occasionally reckless, residents at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve throughout the Canadian Grand Prix’s time on the calendar.
Footage showed that the groundhog darted across the track during lap 13 of the race only to be struck by Hamilton’s oncoming Ferrari.
Hamilton was reportedly travelling at around 100mph when the incident occurred, which the collision leading to an audible thud and what appeared to be instant death for the animal.
The impact not only killed the groundhog but caused visible damage to the floor of Hamilton’s car, hampering his performance and contributing to a frustrating afternoon in Montreal.
Ferrari said the incident, which occurred between turn 9 and 10, had severely compromised the car’s aero downforce level.
Lewis Hamilton said he felt ‘devastated’ after hitting a groundhog at the Canadian Grand Prix
Many groundhogs were seen near the track, including one that got tragically close to the action
This image was captured from Hamilton’s Ferrari moments before it ran over the furry animal
Speaking after the race, Hamilton told Sky Sports: ‘It was feeling pretty decent up until then. And then, I didn’t see it happen, but obviously I heard I hit a groundhog.
‘So that’s devastating. I love animals, and I’m so sad about it. That’s horrible. That’s never happened to me here before.’
The damage, estimated at ’20 points’ by team engineers, left the Briton nursing his car to the finish line in sixth place.
Reacting to the incident, Nicole Piastri — mother of McLaren driver Oscar — posted on social media: ‘Oh no!!! RIP little groundhog. (not your fault Lewis).’
Hamilton had qualified fifth, but brake issues, awkward pit stop timing, and the floor damage left him stuck in traffic as Mercedes dominated the day.
George Russell stormed to victory from pole, while rookie Kimi Antonelli celebrated his first Formula One podium in third. Max Verstappen split the pair in second.
The Canadian Grand Prix has a long history of wildlife encounters — with groundhogs, in particular, known to scurry onto the circuit during race weekends.
In 2007, Anthony Davidson hit one while driving for Super Aguri. Thankfully, most are spotted in time and safely avoided — but sadly not this time.
Hamilton added: ‘It’s never nice to see that. You don’t want to be the cause of that. I just hope it didn’t suffer.’
