Hamilton misses F1 tire test to care for his seriously ill dog Roscoe

SCARPERIA E SAN PIERO, Italy (AP) – Lewis Hamilton missed a chance to test Formula 1’s 2026 tires for Ferrari on Friday as he stayed with his bulldog Roscoe, who was in a coma following a pneumonia infection.

Hamilton said Roscoe was resuscitated after his heart stopped while under sedation for pneumonia treatment.

“We don’t know whether he’ll wake from this,” Hamilton wrote on Instagram. “Tomorrow we’ll try to wake him up. I’m by his side and want to thank you all for your prayers and support.”

Hamilton’s former Mercedes teammate George Russell offered support, commenting: “Thinking of you mate.”

The 12-year-old Roscoe has been a regular sight in the F1 paddock for much of Hamilton’s career and has 1.3 million followers on Instagram.

Ferrari reserve driver Zhou Guanyu took part in Friday’s test with tire supplier Pirelli at the Mugello circuit in Italy alongside Hamilton’s teammate Charles Leclerc.

The test runs were disrupted by rain which meant Leclerc and Zhou spent most of the day on intermediate and full wet tires, rather than the hard-compound slicks they were meant to be testing. It was a chance to gather data ahead of wide-ranging changes to F1 regulations in 2026.

Also Friday, Romain Grosjean got back behind the wheel with the Haas team in a 2023-specification car at Mugello. It was a symbolic and emotional return to F1 five years after a fiery crash in his last race of 2020.

“Fantastic, just felt a bit rusty at first and then everything came back,” Grosjean said, adding he was in tears under his helmet visor at the sight of staff from Haas, Ferrari, Red Bull and Pirelli applauding on his final lap.

“I’m very, very grateful. There are just no other words,” he said.

Grosjean wore a helmet with designs drawn by his children. He planned to wear it for what would have been his final race in 2020 in Abu Dhabi, but had to miss it because of burns sustained in the crash a month earlier in Bahrain.