Lewis Hamilton with Roscoe in hospital: criticism from fans sparks debate on humanity. Lewis Hamilton stayed by his dog Roscoe’s side during illness instead of attending Ferrari events.

Lewis Hamilton chooses Roscoe, but hate explodes on social media: where has humanity gone?

It has often been said that Formula 1, like sport in general, has the power to unite people. Yet during this week off, as the top category of motorsport prepares to roar back to life on the streets of Singapore, that unity seems harder to find. In recent days, while some teams have only been busy with private Pirelli tests or sponsor-related promotional events, Lewis Hamilton has been going through one of the most difficult moments of his life: his ten-year-old bulldog Roscoe was placed in a coma due to pneumonia, and to be by his side, the British driver decided to skip all Ferrari’s scheduled events in the hope that his companion recovers soon.

Through his social media channels, Lewis Hamilton also asked for support from his fans. But looking at the comments section, many insults appeared, particularly from Ferrari fans, or Italians in general, who told the seven-time world champion to focus on the team he works for instead of his dog.

Reading comments of this kind is deeply discouraging, and considering that these are just a small portion of the huge number of messages he received is chilling. As a news outlet, this morning we reported the “update” that Hamilton himself had posted on his social profiles, answering the thousands of people who, after seeing his Instagram story last night, began asking about Roscoe’s condition. Finding comments like those mentioned even under our posts dedicated to this sad situation gives a lot of food for thought.

Today’s session at Mugello was nothing more than a Pirelli test, useful for collecting data on the tyres that will debut next year. Nothing that could give Ferrari a direct advantage, so the work was carried out by Charles Leclerc and third driver Guanyu Zhou. Lewis Hamilton, instead, chose to stay close to Roscoe, the bulldog who has accompanied him around the world during Grands Prix for the past ten years.

It is a decision that reminds us all of a truth often forgotten: behind the drivers we watch speeding at 300 km/h are human beings, with feelings and vulnerabilities. It makes us wonder: was the pandemic not supposed to make us more empathetic and more human?