Imola GP mascot and Lewis Hamilton’s lucky charm ‘Formulino the cat’ has passed away

Formulino was a stray cat which was first spotted in 2020.

Imola GP mascot and Lewis Hamilton’s lucky charm ‘Formulino the cat’ has passed away

Lewis Hamilton petting Formulino the cat (Credits: @Dreamer35180781/Twitter)

The Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix had its very own mascot, which was a cat who was named Formulino. It was frequently spotted roaming around the Formula One paddock since 2020 and was believed to be a good-luck charm. Sadly, it has been confirmed that the much-loved cat has now passed away.

Formulino became so revered by the teams and fans that he was even given his VIP pass. When he was first seen in 2020, Lewis Hamilton was spotted petting the cat in between of the race preparations. Sebastian Vettel did not, however, feel the same way when Formulino made his way to him, as Vettel revealed he did not like cats.

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Interestingly, Lewis Hamilton won the race in Imola that weekend, while Sebastian Vettel finished P12 after a pit-stop fiasco. After the incident, it was said that Formulino could influence the race outcomes and spread good luck to the garages it went to. Unfortunately, the mascot was not able to see his last race this year in Imola due to the floods, which caused the cancellation of the race. 

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F1’s quarterly revenue takes a MAJOR hit as the cancellation of Imola GP was deemed to be the culprit

Flooding in Imola
Flooding in Imola (Credits: Sky Sports)

The Imola GP, scheduled to be held on 21st May 2023, was canceled due to the heavy floods in the region. These floods caused major damage to property and people. Due to this, only six out of the seven scheduled races were held in the second quarter. This cancellation of just one race caused a big financial loss for F1.

It was reported that F1’s second-quarter revenue dropped to $724 million from 2022’s $744 million. This loss includes revenue sources like sponsorships, media rights, and race fees. Liberty Media had also explained that since the decision to cancel the Imola GP was taken very late, they had to suffer a substantial loss.

Formula One has been increasing their expenditure ever since the sport’s popularity recently exploded worldwide. The newly introduced Las Vegas GP set to take place on 19th November 2023, has an estimated budget of $400 million. These investments will surely be met with a lot of gains for the investors as well, seeing how well the sport’s viewership has been increasing the past few years.

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