Formula 1 returns to Montreal for the Canadian Grand Prix this weekend, and as the grid heads to the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, there’s no shortage of storylines to think about, from possible title fights in both the constructors’ and drivers’ championships to the ongoing intrigue surrounding the 2025 driver line-up.
But who will be the star this weekend?
Groundhog.
Every season, when the sport lands in Montreal, the adorable animals find a way to become the true stars of the show, a tradition that dates back years and has been a venerable honor for the sport all season long.
In 2015, F1’s social media accounts shared a photo of a brave groundhog glaring down three cars heading towards him on the track.
During the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix, F1 shared cut-ups of various Groundhog incidents over the years.
“Gary the Groundhog” continued this mad dash into the 2022 season.
At last season’s Canadian Grand Prix, FP1 was nearly scoreless after a technical issue prevented closed-circuit television from working properly, which led to concerns about track safety and caused last season’s first practice session to be abandoned after just a few minutes.
There’s a ton of groundhog content:
Groundhogs also influenced the results. At the Canadian Grand Prix in 2007, Anthony Davidson was aiming for his first points in F1, but he hit a groundhog towards the end of the race, damaging his front wing and ultimately finishing outside the points.
At the 2018 Canadian Grand Prix, Romain Grosjean collided with a groundhog in FP1, damaging his front wing. However, he managed to finish 10th and salvage the weekend with some hard-earned points for Haas.
That made this embrace between Grosjean and Vroom, the Canadian Grand Prix’s groundhog mascot, all the more sweet.
Yes, that’s right, the official mascot of the Canadian Grand Prix is Vroom the groundhog. Here’s Vroom in a safer environment at the 2022 Canadian Grand Prix.
Ahead of this weekend’s Canadian Grand Prix – with the first practice session getting underway in a few hours – Sauber driver Valtteri Bottas made this plea for all living creatures:
Stay in your burrow.
The first practice session gets underway on Friday at 1.30pm local time and that’s when the drivers, and the real stars of the weekend, will start to shine.
