Fuoco-Marciello clash in Macau: who is to blame?

They were certainly the two fastest and strongest drivers this weekend, on the streets of Macau. Unfortunately, neither of them won this Sunday for this seventh edition of the FIA ​​GT World Cup. Raffaele Marciello and Antonio Fuoco lost everything with two laps to go, going straight on at Turn 3, called the Lisboa Hotel corner, the first braking zone of the Guia circuit. On a wet but drying track, the former tried to attack on the inside, the latter to defend by closing the door, thus taking the risk of braking on wet asphalt off the line… before ending up in the escape route and letting Maro Engel slip away with the victory.

FUOCO TAKING THE LEAD but wait until the end…😱😱😱
Both Marciello and Fuoco missed the Lisboa corner and Maro Engel is now in first position! What a race!

Tune in now for the final lap of the FIA ​​GT World Cup on the FIA ​​YouTube channel. #FIA #MacauGP #FIAGTWorldCup pic.twitter.com/Ao1yajuCAt

- FIA (@fia) November 17, 2024

On the television broadcast, it was difficult to judge whether the two men had come into contact or whether, in trying to delay their braking as much as possible, Antonio Fuoco and Raffaele Marciello had simply missed their braking point by being caught up in the battle, possibly trapped by the wet track. It was only through the camera on board the BMW n°1 of the Italian-Swiss that we noticed the contact – admittedly slight but with serious consequences – between the two men, with the BMW pushing on the Ferrari in front of her.

Moving under braking is banned as part of the FIA ​​regulations and is outlawed by the governing body. Drivers can face punishment if found guilty of the maneuver – however, this is open to interpretation from the stewards.🙅🏻‍♂️ pic.twitter.com/y4WkhlqofM

— Raffaele Marciello (@Team_RMarciello) November 17, 2024

Marciello castigates Fuoco's movements...

Obviously, at the finish of the race and on the return to the garages, two opposing discourses were in opposition, each with their point of view and their arguments. On one side, the tenacious Raffaele Marciello. The BMW driver, who was well on his way to winning the FIA ​​GT World Cup for the third consecutive time, pointed out the late movement of his rival in front of him in the braking zone. "Unfortunately, I had nowhere to go when the car in front of me moved while braking", he said on the social network X in a tweet, before making a sort of reminder of the rule in another tweet relaying the video from his on-board camera. "Movement in braking zones is prohibited by FIA regulations and is banned by the governing body. Drivers can be penalised if found guilty of this manoeuvre, but this is subject to interpretation by the stewards."

…and Fuoco deplores Marciello’s braking

On the other, the hit, Antonio Fuoco. The Italian was the most comfortable man on the wet track, and had just taken the lead over his opponent the previous lap, at the last corner. The Ferrari driver, who finally finished 9th, described Raffale Marciello's maneuver as "dirty trick". "He touched me, otherwise I would have taken the turn, declared the winner of the 24H of Le Mans. He hit me in the back and he couldn't even stop his car, so imagine where he braked. The car was incredible, we were very fast... there's not much to say."

On the stewards' side, although an investigation was opened following this collision, they did not hand out any penalties since Raffaele Marciello and Antonio Fuoco were already out of the running for victory, the Italian-Swiss having even retired before the last lap. A very fine battle that unfortunately ended in a damp squib for two of the main favourites this Sunday, in Macau...

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