Fuoco: "Important to get back behind the wheel of a Formula 1 car"

After a first family reunion on Friday during Free Practice 1 of the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, brothers Arthur and Charles Leclerc shared the track once again during the post-season tests of the Formula 1. This time, the two Monegasques were accompanied by a third man with Antonio Fuoco. Former teammate of Charles Leclerc in the promotional formulas, the Italian is still a close friend of the outgoing winner of the Monaco Grand Prix.

Although the doors of Formula 1 never opened for him, the Calabrian made a great place for himself in Endurance with the firm of Maranello, by winning this year the 24 Hours of Le Mans along with Nicklas Nielsen and Miguel Molina. The 28-year-old driver is not far from Formula 1, however, as he is a simulator attendant for the Scuderia. His investment with the Maranello firm gave him the opportunity to drive the SF-24 on the Yas Marina circuit on Tuesday.

Fuoco, from the simulator to the track

« It was important for me to be able to get back behind the wheel of a current generation Formula 1 car, after having driven the F1-75 a few weeks ago at Fiorano, Fuoco said at the end of the day. Doing it in Abu Dhabi, just a few days after the Grand Prix, allows for particularly meaningful comparisons, as we managed to acquire data in similar weather and track conditions. For me, spending so much time in the simulator was also useful to be able to work on the correlation: tomorrow (Wednesday) I will be back in Maranello where we will check some of the data from here. Then there will be a short break for the Christmas holidays, after which I am very excited to get back to work for 2025, when we want to be even more competitive. »

Fuoco covered 73 laps and 386 kilometres during the morning before handing over to Arthur Leclerc for the afternoon. The Italian set his best time of 1'25"238.

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