Romain Grosjean says he "couldn't do anything" to avoid hitting a groundhog that ran across the main straight on the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, where drivers reach speeds of more than 330km/h, during practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.
Groundhogs are often seen at the circuit, though organisers do their best to keep them off the circuit with high walls and fences. They're so common the circuit has its own groundhog mascot called 'Vroum' this weekend, which Grosjean was seen hugging after practice.
The Frenchman, who finished seventh in the session, radioed his team saying he hit a "huge animal" and the result of the strike caused considerable damage to his front nose (above).
"At the end [of the session], unfortunately, an animal decided to cross the straight line. I did follow the advice – I didn’t steer to avoid it but, unfortunately, we had contact. It was high speed. I couldn’t do anything to avoid it," he said.
Despite the incident, Grosjean described his day as positive having finished just seven-tenths adrift of Mercedes' Valtteri Bottas.
"It’s been a pretty good day. We had FP1 and we learned quite a bit about the new upgrade, then in FP2 the car behaved nicely. We tried all three different (tyre) compounds between the two cars – there’s some more work to do, but it’s been encouraging.
"The new aero package does suit me pretty well.
"It’s an amazing circuit. I really like the feeling I get here. It’s not easy to find a balance, and the racing line is always changing. The grip is coming up during the weekend, but I really always enjoy driving here."
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