Hamilton reveals how brake issues and an accident with a groundhog led to significant performance loss

Ferrari’s seven-time F1 champion Lewis Hamilton revealed that he picked up significant floor damage that cost him “a lot of downforce” and the chance of fighting for anything better than a sixth-place finish.

Despite struggling for pace on Friday, Hamilton displayed a strong performance in qualifying. Although he was unable to challenge for pole position, he managed to secure fifth place on the grid, and hoped to be able to fight for a podium finish at Montreal.

The British driver started on the mediums, and managed to stay with championship leader Oscar Piastri in the early stages of the race. However, he accidentally hit a groundhog which meant that he picked up significant floor damage.

As a result of the incident, Hamilton lost pace as the laps went on, though he was able to cross the line sixth come the chequered flag to collect a total of ten championship points.

Having spent the majority of the race in a no man’s land, the seven-time F1 champion was left to rue the damage he sustained relatively early on in the race.

"P6 is a good result considering the cards we were dealt today. The car felt good in the opening laps and I was optimistic about what we could do, but unfortunately we picked up significant damage early on which cost us a lot of downforce.

“From that point, it was tough to manage the balance and pace, and some brake issues in the middle stint made things even harder," the Briton added.

Speaking to Sky Sports F1, Hamilton commented on his technical issues: "I was feeling pretty decent until then. I got a good start, held position, I was holding onto the group.

"I was managing the tyres well. I was feeling optimistic. I didn't see it happen but I heard I hit a groundhog. That's devastating because I love animals and I'm so sad about it. That's horrible. It's never happened to me before.

"The right side of the floor has a hole on it and all the veins are done. Given that, then we had a brake issue halfway through [the race] as well, then we stayed out too long in the first stop, came out behind traffic and it went from one thing to another, so I'm grateful I could just finish, particularly with the brake issue I had and bag those points."

Signing off with a word for Ferrari’s current struggles, Hamilton noted: “We’re not where we need to be, but we’re fully focused on the steps we need to take to compete at the front. That’s our priority heading into Austria."