He threw himself under the wheels and almost ruined the weekend. The old problem of “Formula 1” again reminded of itself

Formula 1 racing is famous for the extremely high speeds of the cars. But the spectacle that the rapid pace provides for tournaments has a downside. Sometimes you have to pay for the brightness of the race with your health, and sometimes with your life.

True, in this case, we will, fortunately, not talk about human victims. Recently, the best racing series in the world has returned to Canada – and the old North American problem has come back to haunt us.

Preparations for the next race were disrupted by… desperate marmots.

An unexpected incident

The Canadian Grand Prix has not been on the Formula 1 calendar for several years. Coronavirus restrictions prevented the management of the series from arranging races in this country. But the fight against a global disease was left behind, and the bosses decided to return the Gilles Villeneuve track to the competition program for 2022.

This North American Grand Prix differs from others in its unique, yet unpleasant feature. The track is located in the island park, not far from the lakes. Many wild animals live around it, including marmots, which regularly cause problems for the organizers of the event.

The Groundhogs have repeatedly brought races to the brink of collapse with their appearance on the track. The 2022 Grand Prix was no exception. In the very first practice, a small animal put several riders in a difficult position.

Photo: © Clive Rose / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

In the midst of the first practice in Canada, a small animal decided to cross the track right in front of the participants in the race. Spanish racer Carlos Sainz suffered the most from the actions of the animal. The Ferrari pilot had to slow down a lot in order not to kill the groundhog and damage the car.

Fernando Alonso, who was following the Spaniard, also lifted his foot off the gas pedal, letting the animal run across the road. Alex Albon had to change the trajectory of the movement altogether – fortunately, he was not on a fast lap.

old problem

Groundhogs are a big problem for the Canadian Grand Prix. These furry animals regularly appear on the track in Montreal. At the same time, the acquaintance of animals with the fruits of human activity did not always end well for them. Pilots also suffered from these meetings.

The last sad incident happened in 2018. French racer Romain Grosjean, then playing for Haas, knocked down a groundhog that ran onto the track. The animal died instantly, and the athlete’s car had a nose cone smashed into the trash.

Anthony Davidson, in 2007, was close to showing for his Super Aguri team the best result in its history. He was fifth, but on one of the last laps, the Briton knocked down a groundhog and damaged the car. This pushed him back into his second decade.

The leadership of Formula 1 was repeatedly asked to solve an old problem – but in response, the bosses only shrugged. In 2018, former Formula 1 racing director Charlie Whiting summarized the situation:

— Of course, we saw a groundhog. I asked if it was possible to catch him, but people who knew about these animals told me that it was useless. We felt it was best to leave him there and hope he didn’t rush towards him. But unfortunately he did. They are the original inhabitants of this island and are protected by law. Groundhogs do everything to get to their habitats.