Lewis Hamilton left \’devastated\’ after suffering unprecedented problem at Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton finished sixth at the Canadian Grand Prix having qualified fifth but lost two places – gaining one at the end when Lando Norris crashed into Oscar Piastri

It was Groundhog Day for Lewis Hamilton at the Canadian Grand Prix – in more ways than one. Not only did he struggle for pace again during the race, but he was further hampered by damage suffered when he struck one of the small mammals which made its way onto the track.

Many groundhogs live on the Ile Notre-Dame upon which the Circuit Gilles Villenueve which hosts the Canadian GP is situated. And sadly there have been some examples over the years of F1 cars striking some of the braver ones who enter the track.

Hamilton is a veteran visitor to Montreal having won seven times there. But, as he said after Sunday\’s race, this was the first time he had ever had an unfortunate on-track encounter with the local wildlife which had ended badly for both parties.

Hamilton started fifth and showed decent pace in the opening stages. However, he suffered damage on lap 13 of the race and it became clear after the race that it was because he had struck a groundhog, which caused significant damage to his Ferrari and, sadly, was fatal for the animal.

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The car lost around 20 points of downforce which significantly hampered its performance on track. Hamilton finished seventh as a result and seemed less disappointed about that than he did about inadvertently striking the groundhog.

He said: \”It was pretty decent up until then. I got a good start, held position and I was holding onto the group and managing the tyres well. So I was feeling optimistic. But then, I didn\’t see it happen but I heard I hit a groundhog – that\’s devastating. I love animals and I\’m so sad about it, it\’s horrible. That\’s never happened to me here before.