Fuoco Joins Cetilar’s Ferrari GTE-Am Lineup

Ferrari Formula 1 development driver Antonio Fuoco will make his FIA World Endurance Championship debut this year driving for Cetilar Racing in the GTE-Am category.

Fuoco was named on Monday as part of the former LMP2 outfit’s lineup for its first season with a Ferrari 488 GTE Evo, alongside the returning Giorgio Sernagiotto and team owner Roberto Lacorte.

Lacorte and Sernagiotto contested the 2019-20 WEC season in LMP2 alongside Andrea Belicchi, who will continue to work for the Cetilar organization as a ‘driver co-ordinator’.

Fuoco’s move to a full-time WEC seat comes after the 24-year-old Italian got the call to drive Cetilar Racing’s Dallara P217 Gibson in the Rolex 24 at Daytona two months ago.

Fuoco has close ties to both Ferrari and the AF Corse team which has run Cetilar’s race program since the start of the 2019-29 WEC campaign.

The FIA Formula 2 race winner and former Ferrari Driver Academy member has conducted F1 simulator and track tests for the Scuderia, while last year he won the Italian GT Endurance Championship driving an AF Corse-prepared Ferrari 488 GT3 Evo 2020.

Fuoco is also signed up to drive a factory-supported Iron Lynx Ferrari in the upcoming Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

Cetilar’s program announcement on Monday included the unveiling of a striking blue livery for its new No. 47 Ferrari. The Cetilar joint cream product which sold by Lacorte’s company Pharmanutra also features as branding on Ferrari’s factory GTE-Pro cars.

“As soon as I saw the car live, I was immediately pleasantly impressed by the livery, with a very aggressive look,” said Fuoco.

“Let’s hope we can be aggressive on the track as well. We are excited and can’t wait to get started. We will certainly be competitive. We will do our best to obtain an excellent result.”

Lacorte moved Cetilar from LMP2 to GTE-Am for the 2021 season in a bid to have a more competitive program in the WEC and to launch a close relationship with Ferrari.

The team earned a top-ten result in last year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans with its Dallara, but generally lacked the pace to match the Oreca 07 Gibsons that made up the rest of the LMP2 field.

“We are starting a new challenge with important expectations,” said Lacorte.

“This time we will not participate to participate, but with the concrete goal of not only doing a good job; but of reaping the results that our team deserves after years of fasting.

“We have the best team and the best car with a fascinating livery that represents Italy and elegance.”