Romain Grosjean has questioned why the Canadian Grand Prix marshals did not remove the groundhog he struck in second practice after one had been shown trackside on television screens earlier in the session.
Late in the Friday afternoon session the Haas driver returned to the pits with a heavily damaged front wing, having struck the animal at the end of the back straight. Groundhogs are commonly seen around the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve during race weekends and one had appeared on the TV feed during Friday's coverage.
With Haas limited on spare parts this weekend, Grosjean was left frustrated at the fact the animal was not removed from danger.
"It was a big impact. It was a big animal," Grosjean said. "It's a bit disappointing because they showed it on TV before the beginning of the session at Turn 13, and that's exactly where I hit it.
"I'm surprised they didn't move it. It's a shame for the animal, of course, and it's a shame for our front wing as well. We are quite limited on spare parts, and losing a front wing like this is a bit disappointing.
"It felt like a big impact. If that happens to you in the race, your race is over - the damage was quite big."
He went to add: "I saw it [on screen], but you don't know if it's still there or not. You're not going to be looking for it."
After his media sessions, Grosjean was paid a visit by one of the official mascots for the weekend, a giant groundhog in F1 overalls.
After hitting a groundhog in FP2, @RGrosjean has an apology to make... #F1 #CanadianGP pic.twitter.com/XYMe6TZIyv
— Chris Medland (@ChrisMedlandF1) June 8, 2018
Grosjean had an encouraging Friday otherwise, finishing FP2 as 'best of the rest' behind the three quickest teams in seventh. Haas has an upgrade this weekend and is looking to bounce back from a difficult weekend in Monaco and reassert its status as the quickest team in the midfield pack.