Do it for Roscoe, Lewis – Hamilton mourns dog as grief fuels F1 fight

Lewis Hamilton has faced countless battles in his career, from wheel-to-wheel duels with the sport’s fiercest competitors to the relentless grind of reinventing himself season after season. But perhaps none cut as deep as the heartbreak of late September 2025, when he said goodbye to Roscoe — his beloved bulldog, constant companion, and loyal presence in the paddock.

As Hamilton’s first season with Ferrari trudges through difficulty, questions arise over whether the grief of losing Roscoe might spark one final push to keep himself at Formula 1’s sharp end. Roscoe’s passing was as public as it was painful.

The 12-year-old bulldog was hospitalised with pneumonia, his condition deteriorating rapidly. At one point, his heart stopped before being resuscitated, and he was placed on life support in a coma.

Hamilton, who withdrew from Pirelli’s tyre test at Mugello to remain at Roscoe’s side, spent four agonising days with him before making the “hardest decision” of his life — to end life support. Roscoe died in Hamilton’s arms on 28 September.

“He was my best friend,” Hamilton said, sharing his grief with the world and thanking fans for their outpouring of support.

Roscoe was more than a pet; he was a fan favourite with over a million Instagram followers and a fixture in the paddock, embodying the joy and personality Hamilton brought to the sport. His absence will be felt not only by Hamilton but by the entire Formula 1 community.

For Hamilton, the timing could not have been more difficult. His debut season at Ferrari was already proving challenging. In 17 starts, he has scored 121 points and sits sixth in the championship.

A podium has so far eluded him, with fourth-place finishes in Austria and Silverstone representing his best results. A sprint race win in China offered brief hope, only for Hamilton to be disqualified from the main event for a technical breach.

Qualifying has also been a weakness, with Hamilton frequently starting behind teammate Charles Leclerc and forced to recover positions on race day. The Ferrari SF-25 has shown flashes of speed but remains sensitive to setup, prone to inconsistent performance. A retirement in the Netherlands following a crash deepened the sense of a season slipping away.

Hamilton has described the year as an “emotional rollercoaster.”

The scale of Ferrari’s technical and operational challenges has been greater than expected, and for a seven-time world champion used to fighting at the front, scrapping for fourth and fifth has been a sobering reality.

Yet, Hamilton has never lacked motivation in adversity. The loss of Roscoe, devastating as it is, could serve as emotional fuel, reigniting his competitive fire. Athletes often draw strength from personal loss, transforming grief into performance.

“Do it for Roscoe” could become more than a headline — it may define Hamilton’s mindset for the final stretch of this season and into 2026.

Ferrari are not yet championship contenders, but the building blocks are in place. For Hamilton, proving he can still deliver at the highest level is about more than results; it is about demonstrating that, even at 40, he remains relentless.

Roscoe represented loyalty, joy, and unwavering presence in a career defined by pressure. If Hamilton can summon those qualities in himself, the bulldog’s spirit may well help him stay at the top — against all odds.