F1 Explained: Why are there so many groundhogs at the Canadian Grand Prix?

A groundhog watches on as the F1 cars race around the Canadian GP circuit — Photo: © IMAGO

Canadian Grand Prix

Why are there so many groundhogs at the Canadian Grand Prix?

Groundhogs have become an unusual part of the Canadian GP story

Matthew Hobkinson Lead Editor

F1 Editor & Journalist

Friday 22 May 2026 15:57

The Canadian Grand Prix has one of the strangest recurring hazards in F1.

Not rain, not the Wall of Champions, not even the brutally unforgiving kerbs around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Groundhogs.

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The animals have become an unusual part of the Montreal race weekend over the years, with several drivers having been forced to dodge wildlife around the temporary street circuit on Notre Dame Island.

The issue has returned as a talking point at this weekend's Canadian Grand Prix, with the subject discussed in length on the latest Up To Speed podcast.

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Why are there groundhogs at the Canadian GP?

The simple answer is that the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve is not a permanent race track in the traditional sense.

For most of the year, the venue is part of a public park on Notre Dame Island in Montreal, with people using the area for running, cycling, walking and other outdoor activities before F1 arrives and turns it into a grand prix venue.

One explanation given was that the circuit was built on an island with infrastructure dating back to Montreal's Expo period, with the grand prix track created around an area that also functions as a public green space.

"The circuit is built inside the St Lawrence Seaway on an island," David Coulthard said.

"So a lot of the infrastructure on the island is still going way back to when the Expo was in Montreal and they've built this track around it.

"It's actually a nature reserve and it's a place that's used for people to go running and rollerblading and all that sort of thing in the summer, because of course for six months of the year Montreal is below zero degrees and normally under snow."

That leaves F1 sharing space with animals already living on the island, including the groundhogs that have become an unofficial part of the Canadian GP weekend.

Canadian GP groundhogs create F1 hazard

Groundhogs have appeared on track before at the Canadian Grand Prix, creating obvious danger for both the animals and the drivers.

They are small enough to find their way near the barriers, but large enough to cause damage or a serious distraction if they end up on the racing line while cars are passing at high speed.

"The groundhogs come out when the Grand Prix is on and sadly we have lost a couple of groundhogs," he continued.

"It's a risk and a hazard of the Canadian Grand Prix."

There was also a suggestion that the animals have become so strongly associated with the race that they almost deserve official recognition.

"I also think that they should really at this point be making the groundhogs kind of like an unofficial, or they should actually make them an official mascot of the Grand Prix."

How do organisers try to stop groundhogs getting on track?

The obvious question is why the animals cannot simply be blocked from reaching the circuit.

That is complicated by the fact the barriers around the track also need drainage openings at the bottom, otherwise water could build up on the circuit surface.

"They do have obviously holes in the bottom of the walls so that the water can run off the track, because otherwise the whole thing would build up like a swimming pool," Coulthard continued.

"So, how do you stop the groundhogs, or marmots as they're sort of officially termed, from running on?

"There is, as I understand it, a mesh behind that so that the water can still run out, but the marmot can't run on."

The hope for this weekend is plenty of racing, no unwanted wildlife interruptions and no more groundhogs becoming part of the Canadian Grand Prix story for the wrong reasons.

F1 Canadian Grand Prix