"I believe it was a beaver": Lewis Hamilton's race engineer informs him what damaged his Ferrari in the F1 Canadian GP

Lewis Hamilton seemingly hit a rodent mid-way through the 2025 Canadian Grand Prix, which caused him a considerable loss of downforce on his car. The Briton did not initially know about this incident and was made aware of it by his race engineer, Riccardo Adami, in the post-race radio exchange.

The 40-year-old was the lead Ferrari driver at the Canadian GP in the initial phase of the race after starting fifth on the grid. However, this advantage soon disappeared as Charles Leclerc quickly made his way past the seven-time champion when the latter pitted for his first pit stop.

Though many may think it was down to the Briton's slower pace on the medium compound of tires in comparison to his teammate, the pace difference can be boiled down to a variety of factors. Moreover, one such aspect was Hamilton running over a rodent in the middle of the race, which presumably caused some damage to the SF-25.

Talking about his outing at the 70-lap race after the checkered flag, the Briton had questioned about the damage on his car, that's when Adami revealed to him that he had apparently run over a beaver, who said over the radio:

"It was stable on those 20 points [loss of downforce]. So considering all in all it was a solid race. Need to see what happened there between T9 and T10. I believe it was a beaver."

On the other hand, with Lewis Hamilton being a firm believer of animal rights and often expressing his love for animals publicly, he was "devastated" by this discovery, as he said in a post-race interview with Sky Sports:

"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, ugh. That’s never happened to me here."

The former world champion finished P6 at the Canadian GP, behind Ferrari teammate Leclerc.

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Lewis Hamilton does not have any expectations for the 2025 season

Lewis Hamilton at the 2025 F1 Grand Prix of Canada - Source: Getty

Lewis Hamilton's start to his Ferrari F1 chapter has not been one that he would like to reminisce about. Apart from the success in Sprint races, he has not been near Charles Leclerc's pace and has often struggled to get past midfield drivers in the SF-25.

Reflecting on how this year is a write-off, the Briton said in a post-race interview with Sky Sports:

"We’re really in need of an upgrade, there’s a lot things that need to change for us to be competing at the front. They don’t really talk about it much. I think we have 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 think it’s just one of those years."

Lewis Hamilton's P6 finish increased his points tally to 79 points as Kimi Antonelli closed the gap to the 40-year-old in the championship standings.