Lewis Hamilton pulls out of key Ferrari event at last minute | F1 | Sport

Lewis Hamilton has pulled out of a test drive with Ferrari at the last minute. The seven-time Formula 1 champion was due to represent his team alongside Charles Leclerc in a Pirelli tyre test at the Mugello circuit in Italy on Friday, but it has now been confirmed that he will not be taking part.

No explanation has yet been given for his unexpected absence. However, it comes days after the Brit shared a worrying update on social media about the health of his beloved bulldog Roscoe, in which he asked for “thoughts and prayers” from fans to help his faithful companion who is around 13 years old.

Roscoe was adopted by Hamilton in 2013 and has been a regular visitor to the F1 paddock at some European races over the years. But he was unwell earlier this year, suffering from pneumonia, and it appears his health has worsened again as the F1 racer posted an image of his pooch inside an oxygen kennel, laid down and wrapped in blankets.

“It’s been a scary few hours,” Hamilton wrote in the caption alongside that image. “Everyone, please keep Roscoe in your thoughts and prayers.” That was posted on his Instagram story late on Wednesday, and he has provided no public update since on his dog’s condition.

Whether or not that is the reason, Hamilton has not made the trip to Mugello as originally planned for the rest. So Leclerc will now drive the car alongside reserve driver Zhou Guanyu, who raced for two seasons in F1 representing Sauber until he lost his place on the grid at the end of last year and joined Ferrari as a backup to their two main racers.

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Ferrari are expected to run a heavily modified ‘mule’ car which is supposed to simulate what a 2026 F1 car might drive like. That is so that tyre supplier Pirelli can get better data from testing the rubber they are developing to be used in the World championship from next year.

There will also be a special moment at the Italian track on Friday with Haas also in attendance. They have invited their former driver Romain Grosjean to take part in a Testing of Previous Cars (TPC) event, which will be the first time the Frenchman has driven an F1 car since his fireball crash at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix which he was lucky to survive.

“To say I’m excited to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car would naturally be an understatement,” the 39-year-old said. “I really can’t believe it’s been almost five years, but to come back and have this outing with my old team is truly something special. My kids had designed my helmet for what was meant to be my final Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi back in 2020 – I’m at last going to be able to give it a go in a Formula 1 car on Friday.”