Lewis Hamilton “devastated” by “horrible” groundhog hit which damaged Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton says he is “devastated” to have hit a groundhog during the F1 Canadian Grand Prix.

The seven-time F1 world champion, who is a vegan, struck the animal on Lap 13 of Sunday’s race, causing significant damage to the floor of his Ferrari.

Hamilton reported he was “nowhere” during the race as he struggled for pace with his ailing car on his way to a sixth-place finish behind Ferrari teammate Charles Leclerc.

The 40-year-old Briton said he was upset to have collided with the groundhog.

“I was feeling pretty decent up until then, I got a good start, held position, I was managing tyres well. I was feeling optimistic,” Hamilton told Sky Sports F1.

“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. That’s horrible. That’s never happened to me here before.

“The floor, the right side, there’s a hole in it and all the vanes are all gone.

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

“So I’m grateful that I could just finish, particularly with the brake issue I had, and bag those points.”

Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur told the official F1 channel: “We had a big kiss with a marmot on lap eight or lap nine. This damaged all the front part of the floor.”

Sky Sports F1 commentator Martin Brundle explained the 20 points of downforce loss Hamilton suffered equates to around half a second a lap.

Lewis Hamilton chasing Ferrari for upgrade

Hamilton insisted Ferrari need more upgrades in order to challenge their rivals at the front of the grid, having languished well behind Mercedes, Red Bull and McLaren.

“We’re really in need of an upgrade and there a lot of things that need to change for us to be able to compete at the front,” he said.

Asked if an upgrade is in the pipeline for Ferrari, Hamilton replied: “They don’t really talk about it much, I’ve been chasing them!

“There is something coming hopefully next week but I don’t know if it’s much, I don’t think it’s going to be a lot. I just think it’s one of those years.”