Ferrari has finally conquered the Guia Circuit. Antonio Fuoco delivered a landmark win in today’s Macau GT Cup – FIA GT World Cup, giving the Italian marque its first-ever victory in the event after a controlled, trouble-free drive at the front of a race packed with early incidents and a shake-up of the expected order.
Fuoco started from pole after dominating the qualification race, and he made an immediate statement. A clean launch gave him space into the first corner, while chaos unfolded behind him. Alessio Picariello’s Porsche was the first casualty, tagged lightly from the rear by Raffaele Marciello, sending the Belgian into the barriers and out of the race within seconds. Marciello, a two-time winner, moved up to second as a result.
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Further back at Lisboa, three more cars were eliminated in a chain reaction. Ayhancan Güven hit the wall first, followed almost instantly by Dorian Boccolacci and Luca Engstler, who had nowhere to go. With heavy damage across the trio, the safety car was deployed before the end of the opening lap.
At the front, the early incident reshuffled the running order into a Ferrari–BMW–Porsche lead trio: Fuoco ahead of Marciello and SCHUMACHER CLRT’s Laurin Heinrich. Ye Yifei, who had started second and completed Ferrari’s front-row lockout yesterday, dropped to fifth during the opening-lap turmoil.
Racing resumed with 13 laps remaining. Behind Fuoco’s steady lead, the midfield saw movement as Sheldon van der Linde climbed from 12th to sixth, passing Deng Yi as the BMW driver charged forward in clean air. But the top three remained unchanged as the race settled into a long green-flag run.
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Fuoco controlled the pace with precision, gradually stretching his gap. With 10 laps to go, he was 2.7 seconds clear, and by the next lap, he had extended that advantage to three seconds. Behind him, the fight for the podium tightened as Marciello, Heinrich and Audi’s Joel Eriksson circulated nose-to-tail while searching for ways past one another in the tight Macao confines.
A yellow flag at Melco with five laps left added more drama. Local favourite Edoardo Mortara — “Mr Macao” and a four-time GT winner — was parked against the wall after his Lamborghini shut itself off mid-corner, ending his hopes of a comeback from yesterday’s difficult run.
But none of the incidents disturbed the front. Fuoco continued to pull away, and with two laps remaining, he held a 4.4-second lead over Marciello. The real fight was for second and third, but Heinrich and Eriksson were ultimately unable to unsettle the BMW ahead.
[See more: Macau GT Cup qualification race sees Ferrari extend its advantage]
After 16 laps, Fuoco crossed the line to seal Ferrari’s first FIA GT World Cup victory, a milestone moment for both team and manufacturer. Marciello secured second place for BMW, while Heinrich completed a hard-earned podium for Porsche.
For Ferrari, the long wait at Macao is over, and Fuoco delivered it in commanding style.
