Hamilton’s Roscoe really lived the high life (1:03)As Lewis Hamilton bids farewell to his beloved dog Roscoe, we take a look back at their journey together throughout the years. (1:03)
He is the greatest to ever hold an F1 steering wheel, rewriting the grand prix record book every single time he is on the grid, and a man whose net worth was recently estimated at around $450 million. He walks the red carpet at the Met Gala wearing clothes from the future, has dated pop stars and supermodels, and just co-produced a blockbuster movie with Brad Pitt.
Then, there Hamilton was on social media, with a paw in his hand. It was the foot of his companion Roscoe as the 12-year-old bulldog took his last breath late Sunday night, ending a four-day coma caused by a bout with pneumonia.
“I had to make the hardest decision of my life and say goodbye to Roscoe,” he wrote of the decision to put his friend to sleep. “It is one of the most painful experiences and I feel a deep connection to everyone who has gone through the loss of 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.”
If you’ve never been there, that might read a bit over the top. But if you have lived through that horrible moment of looking at the vet through tear-filled eyes, the same eyes that your pet had just been peering into with their own eyes of confusion and pain and an animal-to-human connected feeling of, “Damn, this is really happening right now, isn’t it?” then you know entirely too well that Hamilton has never been more down here with us, in the human emotional mess, than he was in that moment.
I started covering motorsports for a living 30 years ago. The first time I heard his name wasn’t very long after that, a karting champion from England, a preteen Black kid in a sport where no one else looked like him, with a smile and talent built for the spotlight. The first time I interviewed him in person was 2007.
In the years since, our conversations have taken place once every few years. I don’t pretend to know him nor do I believe that he has any idea who I am, but if you heard those interviews, you would think that we went to high school together. I have found myself in the middle of those chats consciously thinking to myself, “Does this dude not realize how famous he is?”
He totally does. That’s what makes his relatability even more remarkable, and also what makes it so effective.
Roscoe was adopted in 2013, the same year his human moved over to drive for Mercedes. Hamilton and Roscoe were together for six world titles and 84 wins. They were also together during the struggles of recent years, including this season’s disappointing slog at Ferrari. Roscoe’s Instagram account gained 1.4 million followers as he traveled the world several times over. He even received a credit in the “F1” movie.
The rest of us mere mortal dog lovers, we would have loved to have given our furry friends that kind of dream life. That’s why we loved Roscoe. Because he was able to experience the stage our dogs never had, just as Hamilton has lived out the auto racing fantasy that so many of us dreamed of as kids.
And when they are forced to part ways with those companions, let’s be thankful that those four-legged friends kept those heroes grounded down here with us.
The greatest superheroes are the ones who are also the most relatable. We pay our hard-earned money and use our hard-to-come-by leisure time to watch them operate in the clouds, eager to witness them accomplishing what we previously thought was undoable. But we love them most when they show their best selves down here with us on the ground. Hurting. Crying. Loving the same things — and creatures — that we do. Proving that ultimately, no matter what they have achieved on whatever unattainable level, they are still made up of flesh and feelings, as we all are.
Hamilton’s Roscoe really lived the high life (1:03)As Lewis Hamilton bids farewell to his beloved dog Roscoe, we take a look back at their journey together throughout the years. (1:03)
As Lewis Hamilton bids farewell to his beloved dog Roscoe, we take a look back at their journey together throughout the years. (1:03)
That has always been Lewis Hamilton’s true superpower.
So, whether it’s the seven-time world champion with that paw in his hand, or Dale and Amy Earnhardt grieving their beloved Junebug earlier this month, or Simon Pagenaud paying tribute to Norman, the Jack Russell Terrier who stood in the Indianapolis 500 winner’s circle and even received his own baby Borg-Warner Trophy and is still very much with us, let’s be thankful that our racing superheroes have that companion they can lean on with that unconditional love, a wagging tail and wet nose, whether their person won or lost.