Ferrari F1 Driver’s Triumphant Debut, 10 Years After First Test

Antonio Fuoco will run FP1 at the Mexican Grand Prix for Ferrari, replacing Lewis Hamilton. It is his first F1 weekend, more than a decade after his initial test.

Fuoco is a trusted Ferrari simulator driver and a leading Hypercar racer. His outing reflects Ferrari’s confidence in his technical feel and correlation work.

Ferrari signed him at 16 through its development programme. Early karting success and strong junior results marked him out as a serious prospect.

He won Formula Renault 2.0 Alps, defeating Luca Ghiotto and Pierre Gasly. In the Florida Winter Series, he frequently outpaced rivals including Max Verstappen.

A strong Formula 3 campaign followed, fifth overall behind Verstappen. That earned a Ferrari F1 test at the Red Bull Ring in 2015, aged 19.

After a tough 2015 GP3 debut, he rebounded in 2016 to finish third, behind Charles Leclerc and Alex Albon. He also tested Ferrari’s F1 car in Barcelona.

Ferrari backed a 2017 Formula 2 campaign with Leclerc at Prema. Fuoco was inconsistent but won the Monza feature race. A second F2 season followed in 2018.

Despite flashes of speed, F1 doors narrowed. Ferrari instead leveraged his strengths in the simulator and development testing.

He became a fixture in post‑season tests, including 2020, 2021 and 2024. That work underpinned set‑up processes and correlation for Ferrari’s race drivers.

In parallel, he fronted Ferrari’s Hypercar programme in the World Endurance Championship. Poles at Sebring, Le Mans, Imola and Spa established him as the intra‑team benchmark.

Le Mans 2023 was blunted by mechanical issues. He rebounded in 2024 with victory alongside Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen, despite occasional penalties highlighting fine margins.

Mexico’s FP1 offers Ferrari a valuable comparison between simulator and track. Fuoco’s sensitivity to balance and ride should help at high‑altitude, low‑density Mexico City conditions.

The session may also satisfy part of F1’s rookie FP1 requirement, depending on Ferrari’s season allocation. Fuoco qualifies, having not started a Grand Prix.

Hamilton forfeits initial track time, but Ferrari can mitigate with structured runs. Expect aero mapping, braking checks and baseline balance work on the medium compound.

This outing will not redefine his trajectory. It does rightly acknowledge a decade of service and speed, while giving Ferrari another trusted reference against the current field.

Visual Summary

Daniel Miller

Daniel Miller reports on Formula 1 Grand Prix weekends with race-day analysis, team-radio highlights, and point-standings updates. He explains power-unit upgrades, aerodynamic developments, and driver rivalries in straightforward, SEO-friendly language for a global F1 audience.