How a groundhog incident ruined Lewis Hamilton's Montreal Grand Prix

The statements made after the Canadian Grand Prix, in which Lewis Hamilton spoke of a Ferrari undergoing restructuring with many changes to be made behind the scenes, changes he is trying to influence to help make the 2026 Ferrari a winning car and team, ended up overshadowing what was in fact his race result, a sixth-place finish at the Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve in Montreal.

It was a tough race, with a performance far from the front, despite what the final standings might suggest, partly thanks to the Safety Car which closed the gaps towards the end. Before the neutralization caused by Lando Norris’s crash, the seven-time Formula 1 world champion was about 44 seconds behind the leader and 22 seconds behind teammate Charles Leclerc, who had started three places further back.

A frustrating day, but with an explanation: an unfortunate incident in the early stages of the race. On lap 12, Lewis Hamilton hit a groundhog just before the hairpin at Turn 10, causing significant damage to his SF-25 car. While Oscar Piastri managed to avoid the animal after spotting it at the last second as it crossed the track, there was nothing Lewis Hamilton could do, especially since the groundhog was in a shadowed area under the “bridge” displaying one of the Grand Prix’s sponsors, making it difficult to see from the cockpit.

The impact broke several components responsible for managing airflow through the venturi channels under the floor of the car, with damage estimated by the Maranello team at around twenty points of aerodynamic downforce. A significant blow, which compromised the SF-25’s performance for the remainder of the race, effectively wiping out any chance of staying in contention with the leaders.

The floor damage caused a loss of performance that Lewis Hamilton initially could not explain, as he had not realized the impact had occurred—especially since the issue was only communicated to him later in the race.

Until that moment, his race had been progressing fairly normally, as he was less than two seconds behind Oscar Piastri. At the same stage of the race, further ahead, Andrea Kimi Antonelli was attacking a Max Verstappen struggling with his tyres after pushing hard early on to try to take the lead from George Russell.

After the Montreal race, the British driver explained that up until the incident, he felt things were going well—he had made a good start, managed to hold his position, and stayed close to the group, which made him feel optimistic. He said he hadn’t felt the impact at the time, but was later informed that he had hit a groundhog. The Ferrari driver expressed regret over the incident and noted that from that moment on, the right side of the floor was damaged and all the deflectors had been lost.

Around mid-race, the Brit also suffered a brake issue, with the pedal becoming increasingly long, making it difficult to brake in the right spot, according to his radio messages. Taking all the problems into account, Lewis Hamilton estimated he was losing at least half a second per lap compared to the car’s true potential.

Lewis Hamilton added that, despite everything, finishing sixth was still a decent result. The seven-time Formula 1 world champion believed that if everything had gone perfectly and there had been no issues, a fourth-place finish might have been possible, also referring to some strategic decisions, like the Maranello team’s choice to extend the first stint and end up in traffic, which also influenced the outcome of the race beyond the damage.

Reflecting on the Grand Prix, Ferrari Team Principal Fred Vasseur confirmed that the damage was significant, as the unlucky incident with the groundhog affected a very sensitive part of the car’s floor responsible for managing aerodynamic flow.

“It’s true that we had that incident with the groundhog. It happened at the beginning of the first stint and damaged the entire front section of the floor,” Vasseur explained after the race.

“It’s something like 20 points [of aerodynamic downforce]. Fortunately, we didn’t have a big change in balance, but it was a big loss in performance. We’ll send flowers to the groundhog,” the Team Principal concluded with a note of irony.