From karts, where he started racing at just four years of age, going on to single-seaters, GTs and Hypercars, Antonio Fuoco’s career has been highly nuanced. In ten seasons, the 27-year-old has notched up 32 wins, including two in the FIA WEC with series-derived Ferraris. 2023 has represented a new sporting adventure for the driver from Calabria, who, on the 499P’s racing debut at the 1000 Miles of Sebring, produced the pole position, achieving two podiums alongside teammates Miguel Molina and Nicklas Nielsen in the United States and at Portimão, before seizing both the Hyperpole and the fastest lap time at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. “Every kid dreams of becoming a Ferrari driver. The sacrifices made to reach this goal have been repaid by the joy I feel every time I put on my helmet,” states Fuoco in the run-up to the 6 Hours of Monza, the fifth round of the 2023 FIA World Endurance Championship.
The first steps. His first memories are linked to his childhood years, when Antonio Fuoco became fascinated by engines and speed, a passion he shared with his family. “I often went to the Nika track with my father and brother,” he says, “where I competed in my first go-kart race. At the age of four I had my first triumph. It was the beginning of a long journey. My first helmet? It had a tiger design on the livery. It was Eddie Irvine’s helmet, former Scuderia Ferrari driver.”
A journey that began when he was very young, nurturing a wish that would later come true. “I believe that every child’s dream is to become a Ferrari driver,” he continues, “for me it was from the very first laps in a go-kart. When I realised years later that there was a possibility of becoming an official Prancing Horse driver, I worked exclusively towards that goal.”
Single-seaters. Fuoco, after seasons in karts at international level, made his debut in 2013 with the Formula Renault 2.0 Alps single-seater, racking up four wins that helped open the doors of the FDA – the Ferrari Driver Academy – initiating a learning curve that would last for several seasons. A period in which the driver from Calabria competed in Formula 3, GP3 and Formula 2, where he was a teammate of Charles Leclerc. “My family made a lot of sacrifices to allow me to get to this level,” recalls the class-of-1996 driver. “I arrived in Maranello when I was 14 years old, leaving my daily life and loves behind. The FDA was fundamental because it gave me an education, not only as a driver, but also as a man. For me Ferrari is not just a team, it is also my family.”
The team. Passion, commitment, dedication are recurrent terms in Antonio Fuoco’s way of talking (“I don't like to self-define myself, but if I had to, I would say that I am an ‘aggressive’ driver and always determined. When I put my visor down, it’s got to be perfect”). In 2019 he started competing in Maranello GTs, winning the Italian title in the Pro-Am class that year with the AF Corse team’s 488 GT3. This experience was a means towards his FIA WEC debut aboard the 488 GTE in the LMGTE Am class (2021) and in LMGTE Pro (2022). “Endurance for me is synonymous with motorsport. After the years with single-seaters I went on to ‘closed’ wheels and now to the Hypercar,” Fuoco says. “I understood the value of sharing the car with other teammates, the meaning of teamwork, the sense of the team. This year with the 499P we are experiencing something extraordinary.”
Speed. After months of intense testing, with Fuoco among the official drivers who helped develop the 499P, the most eagerly awaited news came at the start of 2023. “When Antonello Coletta told me that I would be a Hypercar driver, I felt an indescribable thrill,” he recalls. “What is it like to drive our Hypercar? First of all, it is really nice and then it gives the driver a lot of confidence, something that allows you to get close to the performance limits.”
A limit that the driver of Hypercar number 50 has touched on several occasions. An image that will remain in the memory of the Tifosi (“We always feel their support; it is an essential support for a Ferrari driver”) is the pole position sealed on his debut, while the sun was setting on America’s Sebring track and Ferrari was once again back as a protagonist in the top class of endurance. “In those conditions at the last corner, it was really tricky to see the apex. I gave it everything, but I’m convinced that that fabulous lap also came down to the magical atmosphere that surrounded us; the buzz that there was within our team. There are no words to describe what everyone is doing on the track and at Maranello - an enormous job by a very united team. This is our strong point.”