There must have been a few close calls with ground squirrels on the circuit during the Canadian Grand Prix weekend, with local racer Nicholas Latifi being the unfortunate racer to come into touch with one with his groundhog video viral
Formula One raced in Canada for the very first time since 2019 over the weekend, when COVID-19 rendered a race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve unachievable for 3 years.
Nicholas Latifi Hits And Kills Groundhog During Canadian Grand Prix 2022, Video Goes Viral
latifi hit a groundhog in FP3 and he sounded so sad😭💔 pic.twitter.com/TLjph3aKPY
— jake (@LeclercVZN) June 19, 2022
Max Verstappen, the championship leader, and world champion had a strong weekend, winning his sixth race in a row and expanding his championship lead to 46 points over colleague Sergio Perez, who did not finish.
Some cars came dangerously near to colliding with local animals during the event, as the occasional groundhog crossed the track.
During The Canadian Gp Weekend, NICHOLAS LATIFI Hit And Murdered A Groundhog
Regrettably, their money ran out for the groundhogs when one and Nicholas Latifi shared the same stretch of track.
IN CANADA, NICHOLAS LATIFI HITS THE GROUNDHOG:
The event occurred during the third practice session on Sunday afternoon, which was held in heavy rain.
The track seemed clean when Latifi battled the Williams through Turn 2, but as he approached the braking region for the hard-right downhill flip of Turn 4, he encountered a groundhog.
The animal was trying to leave from the inside of the circuit to the outside. All along St Lawrence Seaway but was either too early or too late.
Nicholas Latifi noticed the groundhog and braked hard, but he couldn’t avoid striking it considering the speeds and vast distances.
He hit it on the left side and quickly radioed in to alert the crew, sounding remorseful over the radio.
In 2018, Romain Grosjean collided with a groundhog at the foot of the final straight in FP2. Causing his Haas to lose a nose both front and wing.
In 2007, Anthony Davidson’s Super Aguri motorcycle crashed with local animals, costing him solid points finish.
NOT HIS FIRST ENCOUNTER WITH WILDLIFE:
Latifi was really the reserve driver for Williams in 2019. And was allowed to compete in FP1 at his podium finish in Montreal.
At Turn 5/6, the native just avoided a groundhog by volleying out of the path after going from around blind right.
Latifi had a poor maiden hometown grand Prix season, finishing in 16th place.
After nine races in the 2022 season, he is still useless and ranks 21st in the rankings.
Nico Hulkenberg presently leads Latifi in the statistics after finishing 12th in the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix. As a replacement for the COVID-19-afflicted Sebastian Vettel.
Latifi’s highest result this campaign is 14th in Miami, & he last collected a point in the 2021 Belgian Grand Prix, which itself was postponed after one lap due to a safety car, with a P9 finish.