It is not a good race weekend for the groundhogs living around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Canada. After Alexander Albon hit a little animal during the first free practice of the Canadian GP, Pierre Gasly experienced the same a day later. The Alpine driver sustained damage to the floor of his A526 during qualifying.
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After Alexander Albon had already hit a groundhog during the first free practice in Canada, it was Pierre Gasly’s turn a day later. The French driver hit the animal during qualifying. Unlike Albon, Gasly was able to continue, but he did sustain damage to his Alpine car.
Alpine boss Steve Nielsen spoke after the session about what exactly happened. “For Pierre, we did some experiments with the setup and replaced some aerodynamic parts to try to make him feel more comfortable in the car,” Nielsen explained to the media in Montreal. “Although it is somewhat better, he clearly still does not feel comfortable with the current package and we need to keep looking for the cause, because it is certainly unusual to see him so far behind expectations.”
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Damage caused by a groundhog
“Unfortunately, he sustained some damage to the floor in Q1 because he hit a groundhog along the track, which affected the handling of his car in Q2,” confirmed the Alpine boss regarding the collision with the animal. Gasly himself did not seem aware of the damage to his car when he reflected immediately after qualifying. “We are extremely slow on my side,” he said. “We know we clearly have work to do, but at the moment it has been exactly the same for two weekends. I feel that something is wrong, but I need the team’s help.”
This is not the first year that Formula 1 drivers have encountered groundhogs on the track. In 2025, Lewis Hamilton also hit the animal. The seven-time world champion was devastated. “I love animals and this is so, so sad. This has never happened to me here before,” Hamilton said at the time.
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