In this weekend’s F1 Mexican Grand Prix, the seven-time championLewis Hamiltonhe will get out of the car for FP1, giving way to the expert driverof FerrariAntonio Fuoco.
At 29, Fuoco has achieved many successes in his motorsport career, but has never made it to F1, despite always playing a key role in Ferrari’s development and simulator work, providing vital technical feedback.
The former member of the Ferrari Driver Academy instead made a name for himself inWorld Endurance Championship (WEC)and was a key part of the team that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans for Ferrari in 2024
Firehe triumphed in the iconic night race driving the 499P number 50together with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, becoming the seventh Italian driver to secure an overall victory with Ferrari in the legendary endurance race.
Now, 10 years after his first F1 test, also held with the Scuderia, Fuoco will finally have the chance to test his pace on the SF-25 during the first free practice session on Friday at the AutodromoRodriguez Brothers .
ConHamilton stepping aside to lend his car to Fuoco, the Le Mans winner will end a 16-year fast in which an Italian was not behind the wheel of the scarlet Ferrari in an official F1 session.
The last time the Prancing Horse fielded an Italian driver in one of its cars on an F1 weekend was way back in 2009, when compatriots Luca Badoer and Giancarlo Fisichella replaced Felipe Massa on separate occasions following the Brazilian’s crash during qualifying for the 2009 Hungarian GP.
Fisichella impressed the team enough to decide to replace Massa during his recovery from injuries and the Italian driver wasassigned the seat next to Kimi Raikkonen for the remainder of the season .
Leclerc ready to reunite with former teammate Fuoco at the Mexican GP
Fuoco began his career in motorsport, like many young drivers who dream of making it big, in karting.
Born in 1996 in Calabria, Fuoco began his karting career at just four years old, winning the FormulaRenault2.0 Alps in 2013 on its debut with the Prema team. In 2014, Fuoco competed in the Formula 3 European Championship, where he placed fifth overall.
The following year, the Italian was recruited into the Ferrari Driver Academy and after two seasons in GP3 with Carlin and Trident, he moved to F2, once again with Prema.
It was in the F1 launch series that the Italian competed alongsideCharles Leclercfor the 2017 season. The Monegasque star took championship victory in his debut year in F2, before being signed by Sauber Ferrari in F1 the following year.
Now, in Leclerc’s eighth season at the top of motorsport, he and his former Prema Fuoco teammate will reunite on track once again in FP1 in Mexico City.
However, Fuoco isn’t the only name you might not recognize on the timesheets this weekend: eight other teams have opted to replace a full-time F1 star with a rookie for the session.
