Hamilton ‘devastated’ after hitting groundhog in Canada race

Lewis Hamilton said he felt devastated after learning that he had hit and killed a groundhog, damaging his Ferrari car, on his way to finishing sixth in the Canadian Grand Prix. 

Hamilton, who owns a French bulldog called Roscoe that is often seen with him at Grands Prix, said he did not see the groundhog and felt that the incident reduced the performance of his car after a bright start Sunday. 

“It was feeling pretty decent up until then,” said the seven-time world champion. “I got a good start, I held position and I was holding onto the leading group.

“I was managing the tyres well, so I was feeling optimistic. 

“I didn’t see it happen, but I heard I hit a groundhog. That’s devastating because I love animals and I’m so sad about it. It’s horrible. 

“That’s never happened to me before here, but the floor — basically the right-side — there was a hole in it. 

“Given that, and we had a brake issue halfway through as well, and then we probably stayed out too long in the first stop and came out behind traffic… it went from one thing to another.”

After going 10 races without a podium this season for the first time in his Formula One career, having joined Ferrari, Hamilton was expressing mounting frustration at the team’s disappointing start to the year. 

“I’m grateful that I finished, particularly with the brake issue I had. We are really in need of an upgrade, but there are a lot of things that need to change in order for us to compete at the front.”

Team-mate Charles Leclerc finished fifth despite missing much of Friday practice after crashing in the opening session, but said he was frustrated by how his race had unfolded.