People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), the animal rights organisation, has called on F1's Canadian Grand Prix to improve wildlife hindrances after Alex Albon struck a groundhog.
The driver heavily crashed out of Friday's practice session at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve at Turn 7 after he accidentally hit a marmot.
Following the unfortunate incident, the extent of the damage was significant to Albon's car, which forced him to opt out of sprint qualifying.
PETA has urged that more should be done to protect the local wildlife.
"Alex Albon's decision to swerve to try to miss hitting a marmot on the track makes him a winner," PETA founder Ingrid Newkirk said in a statement.
The statement added, "Showing both courage and compassion, he made the split-second choice to value the life of a vulnerable animal, and that wins him a place on the PETA podium."
"Other species don't understand racetracks or fast-moving cars - they're simply trying to go about their lives."
They continued, "PETA hopes this incident will prompt organisers to implement stronger deterrent measures to protect the animals who call these areas home and the drivers themselves."
Montreal is renowned for its groundhog population that lives around the Île Notre-Dame, which houses the F1 circuit.
The small mammals cause a hazard for Formula 1 and have regularly been involved in accidents over the years during race weekends, despite Canadian Grand Prix organisers' best efforts to prevent the groundhogs from entering the track.
Following the crash, Williams team principal James Volwes revealed that Albon was quite upset to have hit a groundhog.
"I mean, his initial reaction is obviously frustration, because he was quick, up on Carlos, and his pace was looking good - and he needs this session. In these sprint sessions, you get 60 minutes, that's it, and to lose over half of it is frustrating," Volwes told Sky Sports F1.
"Back in the garage, he's more worried about his mum that suspects he's going to have to pay to adopt a family of marmots, because that is a consequence of that," he noted.
Alex Albon qualified 18th for Sunday's Canadian Grand Prix, three places behind Williams team-mate Carlos Sainz.
