Speaking to a crowd at a fan event, an image of Hamilton and one of his new pets appeared on the big screen, with the Ferrari driver revealing the backstory behind his "new Roscoe."

Hamilton's bulldog Roscoe sadly passed away in September 2025, after a battle with pneumonia, following the death of his other dog Coco in 2020 - both were popular members of the F1 paddock, regularly spotted with the seven-time world champion.

Speaking to the fan forum, Hamilton revealed: "Oh yeah, this is my cow, his name is Max!"

The crowd reacted with shock, perhaps believing Hamilton had named his new pet after long-standing rival Max Verstappen, but the Briton quickly clearing up the backstory.

On track, it was a positive first day for Ferrari and Hamilton in 2026. Leclerc and Hamilton made it a Ferrari one-two in the first practice session, and while the Mercedes-powered teams bounced back in FP2, Hamilton was ahead of his teammate by just over two tenths.

In a press release, Hamilton said: "It's been a really good day. It's great to be back on track and properly get going.

Meanwhile, Charles Leclerc believes Mercedes is now starting to show its true pace after sandbagging during Bahrain testing.

Leclerc said: "I think Mercedes is slowly showing a bit more of what they have, and we are starting to see where we are lacking compared to them. And I think they are clearly very strong, especially in terms of race pace."