Grosjean damages his new front wing by hitting a marmot

Romain Grosjean says he is delighted with the developments made by the Haas F1 Team for the Canadian Grand Prix. Problem is, the Frenchman damaged his new front wing by crushing a careless marmot during the second free practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve.

Published on 09/06/2018 à 01:37

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Grosjean damages his new front wing by hitting a marmot

Performing well since the start of the season although poor in points, the American team introduced this weekend a major aerodynamic development including a flat bottom, a front wing, and redesigned side deflectors.

Grosjean made good use of it from the opening day by rising to 7th place in the afternoon.

« This is where we want to evolve, we aim to be the best of the others (behind Mercedes, Ferrari, and Red Bull, Editor’s note), and we achieved it, estimated the Frenchman afterwards. The driving sensations are good. The new package is very nice with a high-performance front axle, which I particularly like, and more downforce. We can still improve things by tomorrow but the general feeling is positive ».

The only downside for Grosjean was his unexpected encounter with the local fauna on the long straight which precedes the final chicane. The contact between the Haas VF-18 and the marmot were fatal for the poor animal and harmful to the Frenchman's front wing, at a time when Haas did not have an infinite stock of spare parts.

« This was a significant impact with a large animal, said Grosjean upon his return to the paddock. If this happens to you during the race, your Grand Prix is over. The damage is significant. It's a bit of a shame because they showed the animal in question on TV at the start of the session at turn 13 and that's exactly where I hit the beast.

It surprises me that no one is trying to chase him away. It's obviously unfortunate for the animal but also a shame for our front wing. We have limited quantities of parts this weekend so losing one this way is bound to be a bit disappointing. ».

The story had a happier ending when the marmot that serves as the official mascot of the Canadian Grand Prix came to meet Grosjean at the Haas reception area. The opportunity for the Frenchman to make amends by offering a truly North American “hug”.