Native to the man-made Notre Dame Island on which the track was built, groundhogs have been a moving obstacle for drivers ever since F1 first arrived in 1978.
Over the years, organisers have tried their best to keep rodents and racing separated, introducing additional fences and barriers to force animals away from the track. But as the name suggests, groundhogs expend little effort in digging around the defences joining the track action.
With access likely and their capture generally labelled as ‘impossible’, very little can be done when a groundhog is motivated enough to cross the circuit when cars are out on track – leading to some very unfortunate endings to drivers’ Canadian GPs.
Anthony Davidson
2007
Anthony Davidson’s Canadian GP was derailed by a groundhog in 2007
Getty Images
Anthony Davidson was on the verge of capturing his first F1 points at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, only for it to all unravel after an unfortunate meeting with a groundhog.
The Briton had qualified seventeenth for Super Aguri but had climbed through the field due to key retirements further up and a horrific crash by Robert Kubica. But while running in a point-scoring position, Davidson’s luck ran out, striking a groundhog and damaging his front wing.
Things quickly went from bad to worse when he then pitted unexpectedly, yet his pit crew didn’t come out of the garage, thinking his car was still out on track.
Davidson was ultimately demoted to 11th and had little remorse for the rodent that had derailed his race: “It had it in for me for sure.”
Romain Grosjean
2018
Despite the collision, there was no hard feelings between Grosjean and Vroum – the Canadian GP’s groundhog mascot
Grand Prix Photos
Haas‘s F1 budget has always been tight, but it took an unexpected hit when a groundhog caused serious damage to Romain Grosjean‘s front wing during FP1 at the Canadian GP in 2018.
“They showed it on TV before the beginning of the session at Turn 13, and that’s exactly where I hit it,” he said after the incident. “It’s a shame for the animal, of course, it’s a shame for our front wing as well. We are quite limited on spare parts, and losing a front wing like this is a bit disappointing.”
Ultimately, the Frenchman did go on to have a good race weekend, qualifying 14th and finish 10th to capture a crucial point for Haas in its battle to remain a part of the F1 midfield.
Former F1 race director Charlie Whiting also commented on the incident, saying: “Of course we saw the groundhog, and I did ask whether or not it was feasible to try and catch him, and I was told by those who know much more than I do about groundhogs that it was a very unwise thing to try and do.
“We felt that on balance it was better to leave him there and hope that he didn’t make a dash for it, but he did, unfortunately.”
Nicholas Latifi
2022
This bid to cross the circuit in front of Latifi’s Williams did not end well for the groundhog in 2022
Flortent Gooden/DPPI
The intermittent running of free practice seems to be the most dangerous time for groundhogs looking to cross the circuit – illustrated by another unfortunate encounter with Nicholas Latifi in 2022.
The Canadian was driving through heavy rain during FP3 and began accelerating toward Turn 3 before the rodent scurried across the road in front of him. Latifi hit the brakes but was too late – swearing on the radio repeatedly and asking the team to check his front wing.
This incident was one of many across the weekend and was a sign of things to come for Latifi, who qualified 19th and only climbed to 16th.
Carlos Sainz vs Gary Groundhog
2022
Gary Groundhog avoided not one but three F1 cars on his dash across the circuit
Sky Sports F1
The furry creature nicknamed “Gary Groundhog” wasted no time in introducing himself to the drivers during the early moments of FP1 for the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, darting in front of an Alpine before narrowly avoiding the flying Ferrari of Carlos Sainz.
The Spaniard, who could have had his weekend derailed by the walk-about rodent, ultimately finished a close second to Max Verstappen but served as a reminder to all drivers to keep their eyes peeled!
Bird strikes and broken noses: motor racing’s other tragic brushes with nature
F1 is not the only motor sport to have a high-speed tangle with nature. In fact, before the age of windscreens and halo’s drivers were in just as much danger as the groundhogs are today!
In 1953, Duncan Hamilton won Le Mans with Jaguar despite suffering through a birdstrike on the Mulsanne straight which had smashed through his windscreen and broken his nose. Hamilton heroically carried on and finished his stint, taking the chequered flag and celebrating wildly atop the podium with his co-driver Tony Rolt.
Over 40 years later, F1 icon Mika Hakkinen would suffer in a similar incident while testing his McLaren but this time had the safety of a full face helmet.
