Lewis Hamilton to miss ‘final assessment’ test as Ferrari names replacement
Lewis Hamilton is yet to register a podium finish with Ferrari
Ferrari reserve driver Zhou Guanyu will deputise for Lewis Hamilton in Friday’s Pirelli tyre test at Mugello, it has been confirmed.
It comes after Hamilton pleaded for fans to send their “thoughts and prayers” for his beloved dog Roscoe after “a scary few hours” on Wednesday.
Lewis Hamilton to miss Pirelli tyre test as Ferrari reserve steps in
Ferrari and customer outfit Haas are at Mugello this week to aid Pirelli’s development of its new tyres for the F1 2026 season.
As reported by PlanetF1.com on Thursday, Hamilton was expected to share driving duties with teammate Charles Leclerc at the Italian circuit on Friday for a ‘final assessment’ of Pirelli’s hardest tyres for next season.
However, Pirelli announced on Thursday evening that Zhou, the former Sauber F1 racer, will join Leclerc behind the wheel of the SF-25 mule car on Friday instead.
No explanation was given for Hamilton’s absence.
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The apparent change of plan appears to be related to the health of Roscoe, the English bulldog adopted by Hamilton in 2013.
Hamilton made an emotional social media post on Wednesday evening, calling for fans to keep Roscoe, 12, in their thoughts after an apparent health scare.
Taking to Instagram’s story function, which allows images and video clips to be posted for a maximum 24-period, Hamilton posted an image of Roscoe in an incubator with the accompanying message: “It’s been a scary few hours.
“Everyone please keep Roscoe in your thoughts and prayers.”
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Italian F1 reporter Rosario Giuliana appeared to indicate that Roscoe’s health scare had prompted Hamilton to withdraw from the test, writing on social media that the seven-time World Champion would be missing “for understandable reasons.”
PlanetF1.com has approached Ferrari for comment.
Zhou’s outing on Friday comes after the Chinese driver and Leclerc’s younger brother, Arthur Leclerc, took part in a TPC [Testing of Previous Car] run behind the wheel of Ferrari’s 2023 car at Mugello on Thursday.
The Ferrari pair were joined on track by Haas race drivers Esteban Ocon and Oliver Bearman, who carried out Pirelli test running in changeable conditions behind the wheel of an adapted 2024 car.
Ocon completed 40 laps in the dry on Thursday morning to assist Pirelli’s development of the hardest compounds of its F1 2025 tyre range.
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With rain arriving late in the morning, Bearman completed 30 laps on intermediate tyres after taking over from his teammate.
Haas’s attention will turn to TPC running on Friday as the team reunites with Romain Grosjean, who has not driven an F1 car since his grand prix career ended abruptly in a fiery accident at the 2020 Bahrain Grand Prix.
Grosjean will split driving duties with James Hinchcliffe, the former IndyCar racer, who will receive his first-ever taste of F1 machinery to carry out filming for broadcaster F1 TV.
A number of teams have provided so-called mule cars – heavily modified versions of current-specification machinery, designed to simulate the forces and downforce levels expected from the new F1 2026 cars – to assist Pirelli’s development of its new tyres for next season.
PlanetF1.com reported earlier this month that Ferrari trialled a moveable, DRS-style mechanism on the front wing of its mule car during a recent Pirelli tyre test in Hungary to replicate the effect of next year’s active aerodynamics.
Additional reporting by Thomas Maher
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