Lewis Hamilton ran over a groundhog. Plus, 200 thoughts for our 200th newsletter

New York Times

5 hours ago

Prime Tire Newsletter | This is The Athletic's twice-weekly F1 newsletter. Sign up here to receive Prime Tire directly in your inbox on Tuesday and Friday.
Welcome to the 200th edition of Prime Tire, where we're excited to announce that, in celebration, we're going to see if we can write 200 thoughts about F1 in this newsletter. Buckle up. Apologies to my editors.
I'm Patrick, and Madeline Coleman will be along shortly. Let's dive in.
200: It took 5 hours and 34 minutes for the FIA to confirm the results of the Canadian GP, thanks to Red Bull filing a protest against George Russell's win. It was eventually dismissed, and Russell retained his win.
We go into all that in depth here, but … 5 hours and 34 minutes. 199: No thank you.
The race itself lasted 1 hour and 31 minutes. 198: You could have watched the entire race three full times, and be 31 minutes into your fourth viewing by the time F1 confirmed Russell's win. 197: Other things you could've done:
196: This is silly. I know why it took so long: the stewards tackle issues in the order they come in — after the race, there were five, including the protest. 195: But, come on. At some point, this isn't officiating; it's a trip to the DMV.
194: On a week when a steward got suspended, it wasn't a great look.
193: Russell's pole lap on Saturday was one of the cleanest, fastest, no-notes laps of the year. 192: If Max Verstappen had done it, we'd be calling it ominous for the title fight. Because it was George, we mostly called it surprising.
190: But maybe we shouldn't have. He's been quietly sharp all season — just didn't have the machinery to rule a weekend. In Canada, he did. 189: Madeline wrote about that today — how a tweak to Mercedes' suspension finally gave Russell and Kimi Antonelli the chance to show their stuff.
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188: I think it's nice we have our first non-Verstappen/Lando Norris/Oscar Piastri win of the entire 2025 season. 187: Variety is nice. 186: That's why berry-themed Skittles are often disappointing.
185: Antonelli's first F1 podium was a quietly huge moment. 184: He's 18. He's racing and still doing school. 183: But he stood next to Max and George and didn't look out of place! Except the height thing.
182: I thought what George said, when asked about the year-long talk of Verstappen joining Mercedes, was right on: 'Why would you want to change something that's working?'
181: Beyond Piastri and Norris, Mercedes might have the second-best driver lineup in F1. Madeline broke it all down here.
180: Sometimes my dog will try to take a shortcut to go downstairs. Instead of going around the couch, she'll see a gap between the other side of the couch and the end table, closer to the stairwell. It's her preferred line to overtake me on the way downstairs.
179: So sometimes she'll go for that gap. As she gets closer, you'd think she'd notice that the gap isn't as big as she thought it'd be. But she still goes for it. 178: It never works. She just won't fit. The table will shake as she bumps into it.
176: One time, she knocked over a bowl of soup I had spent all afternoon making. Ruined my day, so to speak. Ruined my race to make a good bowl of soup.
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175: And then I wondered, will I ever be good enough to make a bowl of soup as good as my wife makes? Consistent enough? Or am I too mistake-prone to make a bowl of soup as good as my wife, my teammate, makes? To put it all together over a full season of making soup?
174: Anyway. Lando Norris DNFed after crashing while trying to pass Oscar Piastri. 173: Norris trails his teammate in the championship by 10 points more than he did before Montreal. Luke wrote all about it here.
172: Speaking of Montreal, I think (see what I did there) it's time to throw it to Madeline in the paddock …
One of the unique parts about Circuit Gilles-Villeneuve is the groundhogs. They're more courageous than most people would be, escaping the safety of their homes to sit trackside as cars zip past. Some will creep up to the track edge while others will be daring enough to sprint across — even with a live track.
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This does, unfortunately, lead to casualties at times, though it is not a yearly occurrence. Nicholas Latifi hit one during practice in 2022, while Romain Grosjean struck a groundhog in 2018, damaging his front wing (also during a practice session). On Sunday, Lewis Hamilton hit a groundhog early in the race, around Lap 12, and suffered damage to his car, experiencing a loss of downforce.
'I got a good start (to the race), held position, I was holding onto the group and managing tires well, so I was feeling optimistic,' Hamilton said to Sky Sports on Sunday. 'I didn't see it happen, but I heard I hit a groundhog 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. But the floor, basically the right side, there's a hole in it and all the vanes are all gone.'
Matters only got worse for Hamilton from there, as the seven-time world champion also experienced a brake issue around halfway through the grand prix. He ultimately finished the race sixth after starting fifth.
154: Thanks, Madeline. This is where I plug my interview with a groundhog expert from last year — still one of the happiest moments of my career. I'm counting that section as 20 thoughts, including Nos. 191 and 177. Please do not double-check my math.
During the Canadian GP weekend, some of the media (including The Athletic's own Luke and Madeline) got an early look at F1: The Movie, the Brad Pitt-led and Lewis Hamilton-produced attempt to bring Formula One to the big screen. It's not officially out until June 27 in the U.S., but we can say this: it's not made for longtime fans — and it doesn't pretend to be.
This is a movie movie. It's glossy, dramatic. It's got slow-mo shots and orchestral swells and some cheesy lines. If you live and breathe F1, you might find yourself squinting at certain details or rolling your eyes once or twice. But if you accept it as a stylish recruitment ad for people who have maybe heard of Verstappen but definitely know who Brad Pitt is — hey, it might work.
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Read our full review here.
Wow, I count, like … 150 thoughts in that review. Amazing.
4: Verstappen got testy when asked too many times about being close to a race ban. I think that was entirely predictable.
3: I also think it's no surprise that both Las Vegas and Canada announced extensions to their F1 deals. Great races both. (F1 Academy extended in Canada, too.)
2: Hamilton came to the defense of Ferrari team principal Fred Vasseur this weekend. I think the pressure on Vasseur will only grow the longer Ferrari goes without sniffing a race win.
1: And, finally, I think (no, I know) I'm grateful for you, our Prime Tire readers. Here's to 200 more. I will not be doing this idea again.
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(Top photo of Lewis Hamilton and a groundhog: GEOFF ROBINS/AFP via Getty Images, Malcolm Griffiths – Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images)