A marmot, a damaged underbody, and a wasted weekend: Ferrari driver Lewis Hamilton experienced a race full of setbacks in Canada
Lewis Hamilton had a mixed race weekend at the Canadian Grand Prix, which began in a bizarre and tragic fashion – with a collision with a groundhog. The incident not only cost the Ferrari driver valuable time, but also a better finish. In the end, sixth place was the best he could manage – more was not possible under the circumstances.
Early in the race – according to Hamilton around lap twelve, according to team boss Frederic Vasseur as early as lap eight or nine – there was a collision with the animal. “I just felt something, didn’t know what it was,” Hamilton explained after the race. It only became clear later that he had hit a marmot. The animal did not survive the incident, and Hamilton’s Ferrari SF-25 was badly damaged on the right side of the car.
“I didn’t see it, but I was told I hit a marmot – it’s just heartbreaking. I love animals, and something like this is really bad for me,” said the Ferrari driver, visibly shaken. “Something like this has never happened to me here before.”
20 points of downforce lost: how much does that matter?
Vasseur confirmed that the entire front section of the underbody was damaged – damage that, according to the Frenchman, cost around 20 points in downforce. “We’ll send flowers to the groundhog,” said the Frenchman, commenting on the incident with bitter humor.
In Formula 1, five points of downforce correspond to about a tenth of a second, which should make a little less difference on the short track in Montreal, but in Hamilton’s case, a significant disadvantage of over three tenths per lap is to be expected.
