Lewis Hamilton and His Off-Track Concern
The seven-time world champion, Lewis Hamilton, shared his concerns on Thursday, but not about his performance in his first Formula 1 race in Italy as a Ferrari driver. The health of his bulldog Roscoe is what occupies his mind.
Roscoe has accompanied the Briton during six of his championship seasons with Mercedes, even attending races with his own paddock pass and traveling by private jet. The canine has a large following.
Hamilton told reporters before the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit: “He’s 12 and a half, so he’s an old boy already.”
“He had pneumonia, but he’s fine now. But definitely this is a moment where every time I get a text message from the person taking care of him, my heart stops for a second. You know? What’s next?”
The winner of a record 105 races added: “I really want to try to take it to Silverstone [in July] and take it to Monza [in September] and cheer it on.”
“I was with him before Miami [the race before Imola]. He still wants to play. He still has that kind of spirit, but he sleeps a lot.”
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Hamilton’s season so far has had the high point of winning the Shanghai sprint race, but also the lows of not finishing better than fifth in six regular races.
His last race in Miami was tinged with sarcasm, as he suggested that Ferrari should take a tea break in a tense radio exchange about team orders.
Ferrari, the oldest and most successful team in the sport, is in fourth place in the championship and is 152 points behind champions McLaren.
“There’s a lot of buzz out there, a lot of expectation, of course,” he said about the atmosphere in Imola, the F1 circuit closest on the calendar to the Ferrari factory in Maranello. “But that comes with greatness and we have a great team.”
“I don’t approach it any differently… I’m definitely excited to see more red.”
“You know Italians are passionate, you know there’s passion around Ferrari. It’s so much more than you expect when you’re really in it and it’s beautiful.”
