Groundhog day? Coyote pee? F1 goes wildlife MAD amid bizarre delay at Canadian Grand Prix

Gary the Groundhog at Montreal — Photo: © LAT Images

Canadian Grand Prix

Groundhog day? Coyote pee? F1 goes wildlife MAD amid bizarre delay

FP1 was essentially cancelled – but fans and teams kept themselves entertained as strange deterrents were also used around the track

Chris Deeley

Friday 16 June 2023 22:19 Updated: 01:15

FP1 in Canada was stopped just a handful of minutes into the session on Friday afternoon in Montreal for 'safety reasons', which coincided with Pierre Gasly's Alpine being parked up on the side of the track.

However, the long red flag delay wasn't to do with the prone car – but 'issues with the local CCTV infrastructure' which meant that race officials were unable to keep an eye on action out on the circuit.

Sky Sports reporter Ted Kravitz offered a possible explanation for the issues, blaming the local wildlife for their habit of chewing on wires (although the FIA blamed syncing of the local CCTV system).

Article continues under video

The cameras then lingered on a small pack of groundhogs on the side of the track, critters which have been an issue at the Grand Prix before – Romain Grosjean damaging his car by hitting one in free practice in 2018 after Anthony Davidson lost a points-scoring place in 2007 the same way.

Groundhog Day

While we wait, here are some pictures of groundhogs 🦫#HaasF1 #CanadianGP #FP1 pic.twitter.com/Ghfvgg59JQ
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) June 16, 2023

Kravitz had also discussed the wildlife situation in his podcast earlier on Friday.

"To try and persuade the marmots and the groundhogs not to go on the circuit for their own safety and the safety and integrity of the Formula 1 cars and the F1 drivers – but more effort to save the mammals from getting hit by F1 cars – they spray the perimeter walls with coyote pee and that puts the marmots off."

No update, so here’s a video of Romain meeting a groundhog back in 2019 🦫#HaasF1 #CanadianGP #FP1

pic.twitter.com/7enRgQy8p0
— MoneyGram Haas F1 Team (@HaasF1Team) June 16, 2023

The FIA's official statements on the issue were as follows.

"The session restart has been delayed due to issues with the local CCTV infrastructure around the circuit. The local organisers are working to resolve the issue and until that time we can’t restart for safety reasons."

"The delay to FP1 will continue as the CCTV is not synced correctly and until the issue has been fixed track action can’t resume. This system is a local installation and circuit management are continuing to work to resolve the problem."