Lewis Hamilton says he is devastated after running over a groundhog during Sunday’s Canadian Grand Prix.

The Ferrari driver hit the rodent during the 13th lap of the race in Montreal, leaving a hole in the floor of his SF-25 car.

The 40-year-old ended up finishing sixth, with his team estimating that the damage cost Hamilton about half-a-second per lap for the remainder of the race at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

But the seven-time world champion, a vegan and well-known animal lover, was more concerned with the “horrible” death of the groundhog.

“It was feeling pretty decent up until then. And then, I didn’t see it happen, but obviously I heard I hit a groundhog,” said Hamilton.

“So that’s devastating. I love animals, and I’m so sad about it. That’s horrible. That’s never happened to me here before.

“It’s never nice to see that – I just hope it didn’t suffer.”

Groundhogs, a type of large ground squirrel native to North America, are commonplace around the track in Montreal, which is on an artificial island in the Saint Lawrence River.

Mercedes driver George Russell took victory in Montreal from pole to win his first race of the season, with reigning champion Max Verstappen second.