"9 years later - he’s finally paid the price": Fans react to Lewis Hamilton seemingly hitting a groundhog and damaging his Ferrari

Lewis Hamilton had an unlucky incident during the 2025 Canadian GP as he seemingly struck a groundhog and sustained damage to his car. Fans, meanwhile, reacted to the incident on social media and recalled an infamous statement from Sebastian Vettel.

Hamilton had a decent qualifying session at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve on June 14, as he finished P5, ahead of his teammate Charles Leclerc, who had to settle for P8. Moreover, at the race start on Sunday (June 15), Hamilton defended well to stay in P5.

However, a few laps into the race, Hamilton's pace started to drop as Ferrari noted a significant loss of downforce. He was informed that his car had some sort of damage. Later, replays showed that the 40-year-old driver had apparently hit a groundhog, which caused the damage in the first place.

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Meanwhile, fans on the internet reacted to the incident and revisited a famous statement from Sebastian Vettel from 2016.

"Once upon a time, Sebastian Vettel joked that Lewis Hamilton wasn’t braking for the animals on the circuit at Canada. 9 years later—he’s finally paid the price," a fan said.

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"Bad luck for the groundhog," another user commented.

"That's not very vegan of Hamilton," a comment read.

"There’s just no way... this team man," one fan wrote.

Doesn’t that just sum up Ferrari’s season so far?" a user said.

"I bet he wishes he could go back and start that lap again with what he knows now…! This could be the plot of a movie! Groundhog #F1 Race!" a comment read.

Meanwhile, Hamilton couldn't recover after that damage and had to settle for P6. His teammate, Charles Leclerc, once again beat the British driver to cross the checkered flag at P5.

Lewis Hamilton on his battles with Ferrari engineers over the SF-25's setup

Lewis Hamilton at F1 Grand Prix Of Canada - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton is still navigating the challenges of adapting to the SF-25, a car that hasn’t quite matched the performance expectations of the team.

After qualifying P5 at the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, Hamilton revealed that he has been battling Ferrari engineers, urging them to try different setup ideas to squeeze more performance out of a package that hasn't seen major upgrades in weeks.

“I’m just trying to… We’ve not had any upgrades or anything like that, so it’s the same car for quite some time now with the same package each weekend. I’m just challenging the guys and constantly battling the engineers, asking questions of it. They set things up and are like, ‘This is how we always do it.’ And I’m like, ‘Well, what about this?’," Hamilton said via Planet F1.

Ferrari is yet to introduce any significant upgrade package since bringing in a new floor in Bahrain. However, Lewis Hamilton still wants to fight by experimenting with setups.

About the author

Akshita is a passionate Formula 1 fan and motorsport enthusiast with 2 years of experience covering the high-speed world of F1. From news to technical analysis, she tried her hands on every aspect of the sport and has published over 1000 articles in the last 24 months. Seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton is her idol, and his extraordinary success inspires her every day.

Staying connected with F1-accredited journalists, official team pages, and trustworthy media outlets, Akshita ensures her reporting is always reliable and insightful. Twitter serves as her primary tool for real-time updates, while her daily engagement with social media hashtags and team handles allows her to capture the pulse of the motorsports world.

When not writing about F1, Akshita enjoys following other sports, such as Cricket, Football, and baseball. Manchester City, RCB, and Yankees are a few of her favourite clubs.

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Edited by Tushar Bahl