Italian F1 icon Formulino dies at the age of 16

Formulino, the so-called 'Imola Cat' who became a social media sensation after making his first appearance at the track in 2020, has died at the age of 16.

The cat was often seen sneaking through garages at the Italian circuit, with a number of teams and fans believing that he bestowed some good luck on the teams he 'blessed' by allowing them to stroke him.

Sebastian Vettel famously snubbed the grizzled moggy while he was driving for Ferrari, insisting he had 'nothing to offer' his feline admirer – before calling him overweight.

Coincidentally or not, Vettel qualified outside the top 10 for the race and finished outside of the points positions on the Sunday.

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'Mascot, therapist and snack buddy'

A post on the 'official' Instagram account of Formulino, shared to his 37.5k followers on Monday evening, confirmed his passing.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Formulino (@formulinotheking)

"It's hard to find the right words in times like these," the caption read. "After more than sixteen years the day we hoped would never come is here, and our beloved Arturo has left us. It’s like a part of us has been taken away with him. He was a member of the Formula Imola family, the first to arrive when the offices opened and the last to leave at sunset after punching his time-card.

This is the Imola Cat content we’ve been waiting all weekend for. 🐈❤️pic.twitter.com/Ko8wx41cyB

— Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 Team (@MercedesAMGF1) November 1, 2020

"Our mascot, therapist and snack buddy filled our working days with joy. There is no Motorsport lover who will not remember him, ready to welcome anyone arriving at the racetrack direction building.

"We will miss you more than we can express. You will always be our Formulino."

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