Originating from the artificial Notre-Dame island on which the track was built, marmots have been a moving obstacle for drivers since the arrival of the first F1 in 1978.
Over the years, organizers have done their best to separate rodents and racing, introducing additional fencing and barriers to keep the animals off the track. But as their name suggests, marmots spend little effort digging around defenses to join in on the trail action.
With access likely and their capture generally described as “impossible”, very little can be done when a groundhog is motivated enough to cross the circuit when the cars are on track – leading to very unfortunate ends for the Canadian pilots.
Anthony Davidson
2007
Anthony Davidson’s Canadian GP derailed by a groundhog in 2007
Getty Images
Anthony Davidson was set to score his first F1 points at the 2007 Canadian Grand Prix, but everything fell apart after an unfortunate encounter with a marmot.
The Briton had qualified seventeenth for Super Aguri but had moved up the field due to key retirements further back and a horrific crash by Robert Kubica. But while in position to score, Davidson’s luck ran out, hitting a groundhog and damaging his front wing.
Things quickly went from bad to worse when he then stopped unexpectedly, but his pit crew did not come out of the garage, thinking his car was still on track.
Davidson was eventually demoted to 11th place and had little remorse for the rodent who derailed his race: “He was mad at me, that’s for sure.”
Romain Grosjean
2018
Despite the collision, there were no hard feelings between Grosjean and Vroum – the Canadian GP groundhog mascot
Photos of the Grand Prix
Haas’ F1 budget has always been tight, but it suffered an unexpected blow when a marmot caused serious damage to Romain Grosjean’s front wing during FP1 at the 2018 Canadian GP.
“They showed it on TV before the session started at turn 13, and that’s exactly where I hit it,” he said. after the incident. “It’s a shame for the animals, of course, it’s a shame for our front wing too. We are quite limited on spare parts, and losing a front wing like this is a bit disappointing. »
Ultimately, the Frenchman had a good weekend of racing, qualifying 14th and finishing 10th, giving Haas a crucial point in their battle to stay in F1’s midfield.
Former F1 racing director Charlie Whiting also commented on the incident, saying: “Of course we saw the marmot, and I asked whether or not it was possible to try and catch it , and those who know a lot more than me told me that it was a very unwise thing to try to do about groundhogs.
“We felt that overall it was better to leave him there and hope he didn’t rush in, but he did, unfortunately.”
Nicolas Latifi
2022
This attempt to cross the circuit in front of Latifi’s Williams did not end well for the marmot in 2022
Flortent Gooden/DPPI
The intermittent running of free practice appears to be the most dangerous period for groundhogs seeking to cross the circuit – exemplified by another ill-fated encounter with Nicholas Latifi in 2022.
The Canadian was driving in heavy rain during FP3 and began accelerating towards Turn 3 before the rodent crossed the road in front of him. Latifi braked but it was too late – repeatedly swearing on the radio and asking the team to check his front wing.
The incident was one of many over the weekend and was a sign of things to come for Latifi, who qualified 19th and only climbed to 16th place.
Carlos Sainz vs. Gary Groundhog
2022
Gary Groundhog avoided not one but three F1 cars while crossing the circuit
Sky Sports F1
The furry creature nicknamed “Gary Groundhog” wasted no time in introducing himself to the drivers during the opening moments of FP1 of 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 seen his weekend derailed by the walking rodent, ultimately finished just behind Max Verstappen but reminded all drivers to keep their eyes open!
Bird collisions and broken noses: motor racing’s other tragic contacts with nature
F1 isn’t the only motorsport that comes into high-speed contact with nature. In fact, before the era of windshields and halo drivers, they were in just as much danger as groundhogs are today!
In 1953, Duncan Hamilton won Le Mans with Jaguar despite a bird strike on the Mulsanne Straight which shattered his windshield and broke his nose. Hamilton heroically continued and completed his stint, crossing the checkered flag and celebrating wildly on the podium with co-driver Tony Rolt.
More than 40 years later, F1 Icon Mika Hakkinen reportedly suffered a similar incident while testing his McLaren, but this time he had the safety of a full-face helmet.
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