SIR LEWIS HAMILTON has risked the wrath of his beloved dog Roscoe… after he was seen petting Larry the Cat.
Formula One superstar Hamilton is known to be a socially conscious person, and leads his Mission 44 project to support young people in their education.
To that end, the 40-year-old was seen in attendance at Downing Street earlier this week for a meeting with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer to discuss education reform.
During his visit, the seven-time F1 world champion took some time out from the meetings to introduce himself to Number 10’s Chief Mouser, Larry.
Larry has served in the role since 2011 after being adopted by then PM David Cameron.
Born in 2007, the tabby is as old as Hamilton’s F1 career when he started out with McLaren in the same year.
Taking to social media, the (un)official Larry the Cat account shared a photo of Hamilton petting the feline as he laid on his bed by a window.
He captioned the post: “Thanks for the stroke. @LewisHamilton – love from the sleeping cat to the prancing horse x.”
It was a bit of a change of pace for Hamilton, who is usually seen alongside his French bulldog Roscoe.
And one fan on social media was quick to point out: “If Roscoe ever sees this picture he will never forgive LH.”
However, Roscoe’s most recent Instagram post showed him being given a tasty treat, showing Hamilton knows the way to the heart of man’s best friend.
Hamilton has not had the best interaction with cats in the past, revealing last year how he had black cats “thrown” at him.
He also landed himself in trouble with animal rights activists in 2016 when he was seen playing with a tiger and jaguar during a visit to Mexico City’s Black Jaguar-White Tiger Foundation.
But most fans were loving the crossover of two British icons, with one saying: “Two legends in the same photo.”
A second said: “Oh what an honour! (For Lewis).”
A third added: “Prime Minister Larry deigns to share some of his aura with Lewis. I respect that.”
Another joked: “Ahh I guess Lewis’s demands to Sir Keir Starmer proved futile and Lewis went over Keir’s head to the real power in Number 10.”
The Ferrari star admitted last month that he worries about his 12-year-old pooch following a recent battle he had with pneumonia.
Hamilton said: “This is a time where every time I get a text message from the lady who looks after him, my heart stops for a second.
“Because I’m thinking, ‘What’s next?’ But he’s fine now, fortunately. He is doing well.