“It’s good luck if he comes and sees you”- Throwback to when Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel met Imola’s famous lucky paddock cat Formulino

With the return of F1 in Imola this weekend, it’s the right time to look back on when Lewis Hamilton and Sebastian Vettel met Formulino. 

Imola is one of F1’s most historic tracks that has seen some spectacular races over the years. It disappeared from the F1 calendar after 2006, and it wasn’t until 2020 did we see it return.

The 2020 installment of the race, known as the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix was won by Lewis Hamilton whereas last year, Max Verstappen took P1. However, other than it’s racing action and history, the track is also known for ‘Formulino’ making occasional appearances.

In 2020, a grey tabby cat was seen was walking around the paddock and the team garages, keeping a close eyes on the teams as they prepared for the race. Sky Sports’ Ted Kravitz, who was interviewing Vettel during that time, said that he’s a lucky cat.

“It’s good luck if he comes and sees you,” Kravitz said. Vettel however, wasn’t pleased with the appearances and admitted that he wasn’t a  cat person. “I don’t like cats,” he said. “I have nothing to offer it. He’s a bit overweight though.”

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Vettel should have treated the cat like Lewis Hamilton did

When Kravitz told Vettel it was a lucky cat, the German should have taken his word for it. The fact that Vettel didn’t welcome Formulino might just have ruined his race.

The four-time Champion, who was driving for Ferrari, had a miserable weekend where he qualified P14. In the race, he managed to make up just two places, taking twelfth place in an outing that he won’t consider memorable.

Lewis Hamilton on the other hand was happier to see Formulino grace the paddock. The Mercedes twitter account posted a picture of the tabby cat visiting their pit wall, and felt that they had been ‘graced’ by his presence.

Hamilton got showered by Formulino’s good luck, as he overcame a difficult start to the race to get the race win. Drivers going into the race this weekend, might just know what they have to do if they come across Imola’s lucky paddock cat.

Also read: Former F1 driver believes Lewis Hamilton struggling at Mercedes is down to his own high expectations from the W13