FIA and Ferrari lead paddock tributes as Lewis Hamilton mourns Roscoe
Lewis Hamilton’s most familiar companion away from the cockpit — and often very much in the paddock — has died. Roscoe, the English bulldog who has shadowed the seven-time World Champion since his early Mercedes days, passed away on Sunday after complications from pneumonia. He was 12.
Hamilton, now in red and sharing the Ferrari garage with Charles Leclerc in 2025, confirmed the news with a deeply personal message. He revealed Roscoe suffered a cardiac arrest and spent four days on life support before Hamilton made what he called “the hardest decision of my life.”
“He never stopped fighting, right until the very end,” Hamilton wrote. “Bringing Roscoe into my life was the best decision I ever made… He died on Sunday evening, 28th September in my arms.”
The response from across Formula 1 was swift and sincere. The FIA, with whom Hamilton has had his share of disagreements over the years, offered a rare, softer note: “The FIA is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Roscoe. Our thoughts are with you Lewis.”
Ferrari added its voice as the tributes rolled in. “So sorry for your loss, Lewis. Roscoe was an amazing dog and he will never be forgotten,” the team wrote. Hamilton’s post drew millions of interactions within hours — testament to the connection fans felt with a bulldog who had become part-mascot, part-mood-lifter in a sport that rarely pauses for breath.
Roscoe was more than a background presence. He walked pitlanes, posed for photographs in team kit, and made cameos that lightened even the most intense weekends. He joined Hamilton in 2013, the first year of that turbo-hybrid era switch to Mercedes that redefined a career, and stuck around for the highest highs and the bruising lows — right up to Hamilton’s headline-making move to Ferrari for 2025.
Among the many to reach out was Jeremy Clarkson. The TV presenter has been a sharp critic of Hamilton this season, leaning into the argument that the 40-year-old is “past his prime.” But on this, there was no debate. “Really sorry to hear that. It’s hell,” Clarkson posted in reply.
Hamilton’s full tribute painted the picture of a fighter and a friend. “After four days on life support, fighting with every bit of strength he had, I had to make the hardest decision of my life and say goodbye to Roscoe,” he wrote, adding that he felt a kinship with anyone who’s had to say goodbye to a beloved pet. “Although it was so hard, having him was one of the most beautiful parts of life, to love so deeply and to be loved in return.”
In a season where Ferrari’s internal metrics and external expectations are measured to the decimal place — Hamilton vs Leclerc on Saturdays and Sundays, every lap dissected — the garage has felt particularly intense. News like this cuts through all that. You remember that behind the lap times and the press lines is a person who took a bulldog to work, shared it with the world, and gave the sport one of its more endearing subplots.
There’ll be more questions for Hamilton later — about qualifying gaps, race pace, Ferrari’s trajectory — and he’ll face them. But for now, the paddock has closed ranks around him in the way it tends to do for these moments. Rivalries can be brutal, and the politics often is, but the community still knows when to put the laptops away and offer a hand on the shoulder.
Roscoe became part of that community. He made engineers grin and photographers sprint. He softened the edges of a hard-edged business. And for Hamilton, he was exactly what he said: an angel and a true friend.
