Lewis Hamilton hit a groundhog in the early stages of the race in Montreal, causing enough damage to ruin his chances of a strong result

Hamilton, who was running well inside the top five, suffered a mysterious loss of pace after Lap 13. Sky Sports F1’s Karun Chandhok later revealed that Hamilton had been carrying car damage from that moment on, specifically, a 20-point loss of downforce.

Lewis Hamilton was left ‘devastated’ after finding out he had hit a groundhog during Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix. Groundhogs are familiar residents of the Circuit Giles Villeneuve, but they have been known to be reckless when F1 cars are on track.