Lewis Hamilton was grieving more than the just the loss of the race.
After accidentally running over a groundhog during the 13th lap of the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, the British racing driver, who competes in Formula One for Ferrari, expressed how sad he was upon realizing he hit an animal on the track.
“I didn’t see it happen,” Hamilton said after the June 15 race, per ESPN, “but I heard I hit a groundhog.”
And while the collision may have cost him the race as well as leaving “a hole” in the right side of the floor of his car, the 40-year-old—whose 2017 shift to veganism was partially inspired by animal welfare—was more focused on the harm he caused the innocent creature.
“That’s devastating,” he continued, noting that he started the race off feeling nothing less than optimistic. “I love animals and that’s so, so sad. That’s never happened to me here before.”
