Hamilton ‘devastated’ after running over groundhog

Lewis Hamilton says he is devastated after running over a groundhog during Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver hit the rodent during the 13th lap of the race in Montreal, leaving a hole in the floor of his SF-25 car.

The 40-year-old ended up finishing sixth, with his team estimating that the damage cost Hamilton about half-a-second per lap for the remainder of the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

But the seven-time world champion, a vegan and well-known animal lover, was more concerned with the “horrible” death of the groundhog.

“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.

“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.”

Groundhogs, a type of large ground squirrel native to North America, are commonplace around the track in Montreal, which is on an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River.