Lewis Hamilton will sit out the first practice session at this weekend’s Mexican Grand Prix with Antonio Fuoco driving in his place, Ferrari has confirmed.
Ferrari announced on Monday that Fuoco will drive the SF-25 car in Friday’s FP1 session at the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez.
Ferrari confirms Antonio Fuoco will deputise for Lewis Hamilton in Mexican GP F1
It will mark Fuoco’s first-ever appearance on an official race weekend, more than a decade after his maiden Formula 1 test with Ferrari.
Ferrari stopped short of announcing which driver Fuoco would replace in FP1 in Mexico on Monday.
As revealed by PlanetF1.com, however, it soon emerged that Hamilton would be the one forced to make way as teammate Charles Leclerc has already sat out two FP1 sessions in the F1 2025 season.
Under F1’s rules, teams are required to field a rookie driver – described as drivers who have started no more than two grands prix – in at least two FP1 sessions per car each season.
Lewis Hamilton vs Charles Leclerc: Ferrari head-to-head scores for F1 2025
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👉 F1 2025: Head-to-head race statistics between team-mates
Ferrari has now confirmed that Fuoco, who represents Ferrari in the World Endurance Championship and won the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours race in 2024, will deputise for Hamilton in Mexico.
Fuoco said: “My debut in an official weekend is something that, both personally and professionally, makes me truly proud and happy.
“Having the opportunity to drive Lewis’s car and to share the garage with Charles again, as we did in 2017 in Formula 2, is really special.
“We’ve shared many moments together, both on and off the track.
“Then our careers took different paths, but we’ve always maintained a great relationship, and today we’ve both achieved important milestones with Ferrari.
“It will definitely be a Friday to remember, a reward for the work I’ve done over the years in support of the team.
“My main contribution will certainly be to provide a useful reference for simulator correlation, trying to collect as much data as possible and to verify in real conditions how the car behaves on track during a race weekend.
“For me personally, it will also be important to help me improve in the work I usually do on the simulator.
“Working with Lewis’ engineers and the rest of the team at the track will allow me to grow further and refine the technical sensitivity that I’ll bring back to my work in Maranello.”
Fuoco went on to describe his first official F1 outing with Ferrari as one of the highlights of his motorsport career.
He added: “Looking back at my journey, I can say that these years with Ferrari have been truly unique.
“We’ve come a long way together, from the Scuderia Ferrari Driver Academy to GT racing, through work in the simulator, developing the Formula 1 car, and finally the 499P project.
“I must admit I’m very proud, especially as an Italian driver who dreamed since childhood of racing for Ferrari.
“The victory with the Hypercar in the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans will probably remain the highlight of my career, but being able to finally take part officially in a Formula 1 weekend with Scuderia Ferrari HP is an incredible feeling.”
More on Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari from PlanetF1.com
With Ferrari junior star Dino Beganovic filling in for Leclerc in Bahrain and Austria earlier this season, Hamilton will be forced to miss another FP1 session before the end of the F1 2025 season.
With the upcoming rounds in Brazil and Qatar designated sprint events, limiting teams and drivers to a single hour of practice running, it is highly unlikely that Hamilton will sit out FP1 at either of those rounds.
The Las Vegas Grand Prix, held on a street circuit, is also unlikely to be considered appropriate for a rookie outing.
That leaves Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the season finale, as the most likely race for Ferrari to fulfill its final mandatory rookie FP1 outing with Hamilton’s car.
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