Lewis Hamilton has taken to social media after reportedly pulling out of a Ferrari test event.
Last weekend, Hamilton had one of his better weekends for Ferrari during the Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Despite starting the race around Baku in 12th place, the 40-year-old managed to finish in eighth place, controversially ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc.
During the final lap of the race, Ferrari had instructed Hamilton to give his place back to Leclerc, but the Brit failed to do so after a slight misjudgment.
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With no Formula 1 Grand Prix being held this weekend, Hamilton and Leclerc were scheduled to take part in a Pirelli tyre test at Ferrari's team base.
Ferrari and customer team Haas are set to help Pirelli's development of new tyres ahead of the 2026 campaign.
Earlier in the week, it was reported by Planet F1 that Hamilton would be on track on Friday.
It was then announced by Pirelli on Thursday evening that Zhou Guanyu and Leclerc will be the Ferrari drivers. No explanation was given for Hamilton's absence.
However, on Wednesday evening, Hamilton did issue an emotional plea on his social media.
He posted a picture of his dog, Roscoe, with a caption that read: "It’s been a scary few hours. Everyone please keep Roscoe in your thoughts and prayers."
As per Planet F1, Italian F1 reporter Rosario Giuliana indicated that Roscoe's health could be the reason behind Hamilton's decision to pull out of the Pirelli test.
SPORTbible has reached out to Scuderia Ferrari HP for comment.
On Friday morning, Hamilton posted another picture of Roscoe and wrote: "Please keep Roscoe in your thoughts. I want to keep you all updated. Roscoe caught pneumonia again and was struggling to breathe. He was admitted into hospital and sedated to calm him while they did checks on him and during the process his heart stopped.
"They managed to get a heartbeat back and now he’s in a coma. We don’t know whether he will wake from this. Tomorrow we’ll try to wake him up. I’m by his side and want to thank you all for your prayers and support."
Earlier in the year, Hamilton revealed that Roscoe, who is nearly 13 years old, was diagnosed with pneumonia.
He said: "He's 12-and-a-half years old so he's an old boy.
"He had pneumonia, but he's fine now. But definitely this is a time where every time I get a text message from the lady who's looking after him, my heart stops for a second. You know, what's next?"
F1 will return next weekend with the Singapore Grand Prix, which will take place around the Marina Bay Street Circuit.
Topics: Lewis Hamilton, Formula 1, Ferrari
Marcus Chan