WEC driver Antonio Fuoco set for Ferrari FP1 outing at Mexico Grand Prix

Ferrari World Endurance Championship driver Antonio Fuoco is set to take part in practice 1 ahead of the Mexican Grand Prix for the Maranello outfit on Friday.

In addition to his WEC commitments, the 29-year-old Italian serves as a development driver for the Ferrari Formula 1 team. He had his first F1 test in 2015 with Ferrari during a two-day test at the Red Bull Ring after the Austrian Grand Prix, and he also took part in the 2020 Young Driver Test and the post-season test at Yas Marina Circuit in 2021 and 2024 for the historic team.

After Mick Schumacher was announced as a Ferrari Driver Academy driver, Fuoco was promoted to Ferrari's F1 simulator team in 2019.

He joined Ferrari AF Corse for the Le Mans Hypercar category of the WEC in 2023, partnering with Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen. The Italian driver secured Ferrari's first pole position in the top class of the championship in the same year, and he also, along with Nielsen and Molina, secured the Maranello squad's 24 Hours of Le Mans win in 2024.

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Ferrari is yet to confirm which driver, Charles Leclerc or Lewis Hamilton, Fuoco will replace in the first practice session.

Ferrari has already run Formula 2 driver Dino Beganovic in an FP1 session this year, replacing Leclerc in Bahrain. But no other drivers have been confirmed at this stage.

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Joining Fuoco with a rookie outing in FP1 in Mexico are Pato O'Ward for McLaren, Arvid Lindblad for Red Bull, Jak Crawford for Aston Martin and Luke Browning for Williams.

Why do teams run rookies in FP1 sessions?

Since 2022, every F1 team has been required to run a rookie driver in at least one FP1 session per car, so two sessions in total per season. But in 2025, a rule change was introduced to increase the mandatory number of sessions to two per car per season.

The rookie drivers must not have started more than two F1 races in their career.

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