Lewis Hamilton has described his crash with a groundhog at Montreal as “horrible” and “devastating.” The Briton almost seemed more upset about killing an animal rather than his underwhelming outing with Ferrari at the Canadian Grand Prix. He is a self-proclaimed animal lover and has even turned vegan many years ago.
Lewis Hamilton finished sixth at the Canadian GP on Sunday. This marked yet another disappointing outing for the Briton with Ferrari this year. He was running seventh for the majority of the race and gained one place after Lando Norris’s lap 67 crash.
Hamilton was almost in no man’s land during the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on Sunday. He had suffered floor damage after hitting a groundhog on lap 13 of the race, which essentially ended any chances of him fighting for higher positions.
But Hamilton seemed more concerned about having killed a groundhog, than what the accident meant for his race. Speaking to the media after the race, Hamilton described the accident as a “horrible” thing to have happened.
“It was feeling pretty decent up until then. And then, I didn’t see it happen, but obviously, I heard I hit a groundhog,” said Hamilton. [via The BBC]
“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. It’s never nice to see that. I just hope it didn’t suffer.” he added.
Groundhogs, and other rodents, such as beavers, are a common sight at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. The track is built on Notre Dame Island and is located within a public park. This means various forms of wildlife often appear on the track during race weekends.
Lewis Hamilton not optimistic about Ferrari upgrades ahead of Austrian GP
Lewis Hamilton seemed unsure if Ferrari’s scheduled upgrades ahead of the Austrian GP would be of much help. While claiming that the team is in dire need of upgrades, he questioned whether the ones arriving in the coming week will make much difference.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the Canadian GP, Hamilton explained Ferrari’s position at the moment, and shared his low expectations for the remainder of the 2025 season.
“We are really in need of an upgrade and there’s lots of things that need to change for us to compete at the front,” he said.
“We have something hopefully coming next week. I don’t know if it’s much, how much it is. I don’t think it’s a lot, just think it’s one of those years.” he added.
While Hamilton continued to struggle, his former team, Mercedes, had their best weekend of the year at Canada. George Russell claimed his first victory of the season, and Kimi Antonelli became only the third ever teenager to stand on an F1 podium. The Silver Arrows have also overtaken Ferrari in the Constructors’ standings and now sit in P2.
