| Leonardo Fornaroli | |
|---|---|
 Fornaroli driving theDallara F2 2024 during the2025 Spielberg Formula 2 round | |
| Nationality |  Italian |
| Born | (2004-12-03)3 December 2004 (age 21) Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship career | |
| Debut season | 2024 |
| Former teams | Rodin Motorsport,Invicta Racing |
| Starts | 27 |
| Wins | 4 |
| Podiums | 9 |
| Poles | 3 |
| Fastest laps | 1 |
| Best finish | 1st in2025 |
| Previous series | |
| Championship titles | |
Leonardo Fornaroli (Italian pronunciation:[leoˈnardofoɾnaˈrɔːli]; born 3 December 2004) is an Italianracing driver who serves as areserve driver inFormula One forMcLaren. Fornaroli most recently competed in theFIA Formula 2 Championship forInvicta Racing.
Born inPiacenza, Fornaroli began competitivekart racing aged 10. He was the2022 Formula Regional European rookie champion. Fornaroli won the2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship in his second year withTrident, where he was the first champion to not win a single race in both his championship-winning campaign and his entire F3 career, and won the2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship withInvicta to become the eighth driver in history to win theGP2/F2 title in their rookie season.
Fornaroli begankarting competitively in his native Italy around the age of ten, first winning the Mini Academy class of the Championkart championship in 2016 before moving up to X30 Junior the following year.[1] He came runner-up in the 2017 X30 Challenge Italy, in a season that also included entry to internationalIAME events, but found more success in 2018, when he was third in the Italian Karting Championship and made his full-time European debut in theWSK Super Master Series.[2] Fornaroli's final year in karting would prove to be his best, as he was a front-runner in the 2019WSK Euro Series on hisOK debut and finished 3rd in the prestigiousAndrea Margutti Trophy.[3][4] At the end of the year, he was invited to participate in the 16th edition of the annual Supercorso Federale event atVallelunga, as one of five young karting talents selected byACI Sport and theFerrari Driver Academy.[5][6]
Having tested aFormula 4 car for the first time at the Supercorso Federale, 2020 would see Fornaroli make his debut in theItalian F4 Championship, driving for sportscar racing teamIron Lynx, which extended its program to single-seaters.[7][8] He repaid the faith straightaway, taking a solid fourth-place finish on debut atMisano.[9] He would go on to score eight top-five finishes from 20 races, including a podium atMonza, and finished ninth in the overall standings on 108 points.[10] At the end of the year, as an award for his performances, Fornaroli was again invited toACI Sport's Supercorso Federale, together with F4 rivalsGabriele Minì,Francesco Pizzi,Andrea Rosso and four karting drivers.[11]
In 2021 Fornaroli remained inthe series with Iron Lynx, partnering new Ferrari Driver Academy recruitMaya Weug and Pietro Armanni. He was the highest-placed driver in the 2020 standings to return.[12] Consistency would once again prove to be his biggest asset, as he was in the points in every race he finished. Two very strong weekends at Misano, where he clinched his first F4 victory from his first pole before scoring two further podiums,[13] andImola would initially see Fornaroli as the only real threat for eventual championOliver Bearman.[14] He would however lose out shortly after, despite a second pole and more podiums at theRed Bull Ring andMugello, and reached the season finale atMonza in third position, as part of a four-way fight for second.[15] The weekend did not go to plan for him, as he faced a lowly ninth position, a retirement and a DNS that eventually dropped him to fifth in the standings, behind runner-upTim Tramnitz andPrema's Kirill Smal andSebastián Montoya. Fornaroli's closest teammate, Armanni, finished 23 places and 172 points behind him.[16]
Fornaroli also took part in theADAC Formula 4 with the team as a guest driver for the first two rounds.[17] In those two rounds he competed in, he scored a high of third in the second race inAustria.[18]
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In 2022 Fornaroli made the step up toFormula Regional, first doing a partial campaign in theAsian Championship forHitech Grand Prix, with a fourth-place qualifying result and a fifth-place finish as highlights,[19] before returning toEurope for the main season with new teamTrident, alongside F4 rival Tramnitz andRoman Bilinski.[20][21] Consistency would prove to be the Italian's biggest trait, as he went on to score points in fifteen of the twenty races on his and his team's debut season. He finished 8th in the overall standings, as the best-placed rookie and well ahead of both of his teammates. His best finish was a fourth place in race one at theHungaroring.[22][23]
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At the end of September 2022, Fornaroli partook in theFIA Formula 3 post-season test withTrident, partneringOliver Goethe and FRECA rivalGabriel Bortoleto on all three days.[24][25][26] On 3 December 2022, on his 18th birthday, it was announced that Fornaroli would be part of the team's2023 line-up alongside Bortoleto and Goethe.[27] He started his season with eighth inBahrain, but was a victim of puncture in the feature race.[28] He would prove his worth inMelbourne, where he qualified and finished fourth in the feature race.[29] Fornaroli took his first podium with second inMonaco during the sprint race after holding offGrégoire Saucy.[30] He followed it up with a third place during theBarcelona sprint race.[31] He was on the hunt for more points in the feature race, but was pushed off-track byLuke Browning on the opening lap.[32]
Fornaroli took his maiden pole position inSilverstone, forming a Trident 1-2 ahead of teammateOliver Goethe.[33][34] In the feature race, he would get bested by Goethe and fall to second place, but nevertheless grabbed a huge haul of points.[35] He would qualify in the top-three in bothHungary andSpa-Francorchamps, but would only earn four points from the two rounds.[36][37] After an eighth place during the sprint race inMonza, Fornaroli ranked 11th in the standings with 69 points, amassing three podiums and a pole position that year.[38]
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Fornaroli andTrident continued their relationship together for the2024 season.[39] A podium inBahrain came before a second place from pole atMelbourne, where Fornaroli lost the lead toDino Beganovic at the midway point.[40][41] TheImola feature race yielded another podium, though the Italian had to fight back to third from fifth after losing the race lead due to a sudden loss of power.[42] More points came throughout the next four events, with a highlight being third place atBarcelona; Fornaroli was fourth overall going into the final three rounds of the season.[43][44] Fornaroli remained consistent atBudapest andSpa, where he paired up respective points finishes in the sprint races with third-place finishes on both Sundays.[45][46]
With these results, Fornaroli went into the season finale atMonza as the championship leader, sitting one point ahead ofGabriele Minì.[47] His weekend started in perfect fashion, as he took his second pole position of the year, though the championship remained close following a scrappy race from both Fornaroli and Minì on Saturday.[48][49] On the opening lap of the feature race Fornaroli lost the lead toAlex Dunne and would soon find himself fighting for the top five positions. WhilstSami Meguetounif was able to clear his competitors for an eventual victory, Fornaroli would battle Minì andChristian Mansell until the penultimate lap, where his Italian title rival moved into second place; with Fornaroli in fourth and behind Mansell this would mean a title for Minì. In a last attempt on the final lap, Fornaroli threw his car down the inside of Mansell at the final corner, claiming third place without making contact and crossing the line to narrowly win the title.[50][51] Minì was later disqualified for incorrect tyre pressures, meaning that Fornaroli inherited second.[52] With this, Fornaroli became the first ever champion of FIA F3 or its predecessor GP3 to not win a race during the season, claiming the championship through his consistency and clean driving — he did not retire from any race during the season, only failing to score points in two races.[53]
In November 2024, Fornaroli announced that he would make hisFormula 2 debut early for theYas Marina round withRodin Motorsport in place ofZane Maloney, as the Barbadian had clashingFormula E commitments.[54]
Just days after clinching the2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship, Fornaroli announced that he would step up toFormula 2 withInvicta Racing for 2025.[55] Ahead of the season, he revealed that he would be balancinguniversity studies alongside his rookie F2 campaign.[56] Fornaroli began the season strongly inMelbourne, finishing second in thesprint race after starting on reverse pole losing the lead toJoshua Dürksen from reverse pole.[57][58] He secured his maidenpole position inBahrain,[59][60] before finishing third in thefeature race, after losing the lead early toAlex Dunne and successfully defending against a late challenge fromPepe Martí.[61] He narrowly missed a third podium in as many rounds inJeddah, finishing fourth in the feature race after failing to passVictor Martins, having placed seventh in the sprint.[62][63] Further points followed inImola, although a slow stop in the feature race dropped him out of podium contention.[64] InMonaco, Fornaroli avoided a mult-car collision on the opening lap from third on the grid,[65] but finished second in the feature race after missing the pit window under a safety car, allowingJak Crawford to pass him for the lead.[66] The triple-header concluded on a frustrating note inBarcelona, where he scored only two points in the sprint race before receiving a stop-go penalty for a starting infringement in the feature and later retiring due to a loose wheel.[67]
Fornaroli secured his second pole inAustria,[68][69] but suffered a second consecutive retirement after being caught in a multi-car collision on the final lap of the sprint race.[70] In the feature race, he led the opening stages before losing positions during the pit cycle, although he recovered to finish third following a prolonged battle with Martí; he was later promoted to second after Alex Dunne was disqualified.[71] His breakthrough came inSilverstone, qualifying tenth which put him on reverse pole for the sprint.[72] Despite pressure fromKush Maini at the start, Fornaroli held the lead throughout, proceeding to take his first single-seater win in four years.[73][74][75] He finished sixth in the feature race,[76] before claiming another sprint win inSpa-Francorchamps after a decisive start from third on the grid.[77][78] A fifth place in a wet feature race moved him into the championship lead.[79] He qualified second inHungary behind teammateRoman Staněk.[80] After finishing fifth in the sprint, Fornaroli managed toovercut teammate Staněk during the feature race pit cycle and went on to seal his first feature race victory, despite a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane.[81][82] Team principal James Robinson remarked that it was "mind-blowing" that Fornaroli—who led by 17 points ahead of the summer break—was not affiliated with aFormula One team.[83]
Fornaroli continued his strong form inMonza, where he won the sprint after a decisive pass onDino Beganovic for the lead.[84][85] He added a fifth place finish in the feature race.[86] After qualifying second inBaku,[87] he recorded a pair of fifth-place finishes across the weekend; he briefly led the feature race before dropping positions during the pit cycle and later received a penalty for contact with Dunne.[88] He inherited pole position inQatar following a penalty forOliver Goethe.[89][90] After finishing sixth in the sprint,[91] a second-place in the feature race secured Fornaroli the championship with a round to spare, becoming the fifth champion in the FIA Formula 2 era to win the F3 and F2 titles in consecutive years.[92][93][94] Despite qualifying third for theYas Marina finale,[95] he endured his only non-scoring weekend of the year after a safety car compromised his alternate strategy in the feature race.[96]
Fornaroli concluded the season as champion with four wins from nine podiums, and three poles, also helping Invicta Racing secure back-to-back titles.[97][98] Fornaroli additionally received theAnthoine Hubert Award as the top rookie,[99] whileFormula Scout ranked him as the best driver in junior formulae throughout 2025.[100]
After winning the2025 Formula 2 title,McLaren announced that Fornaroli would be signed totheir driver development programme.[101] A month later, he was announced to be McLaren's reserve driver for the2026 season, alongsidePato O'Ward.[102]
In 2025, Fornaroli made hisFormula E debut during theBerlin rookie test at theTempelhof Airport Street Circuit withJaguar TCS Racing.[103]
| Season | Series | Team | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | South Garda Winter Cup — Mini ROK | NC | |
| 2017 | IAME International Open — X30 Junior | NC† | |
| IAME International Final — X30 Junior | 5th | ||
| 2018 | South Garda Winter Cup —OKJ | Team Driver Racing Kart | NC |
| WSK Super Master Series —OKJ | NC | ||
| Italian Championship — X30 Junior | 3rd | ||
| CIK-FIA European Championship —OKJ | NC† | ||
| WSK Open Cup —OKJ | NC | ||
| IAME International Final — X30 Junior | 3rd | ||
| WSK Final Cup —OKJ | NC† | ||
| 2019 | Italian Championship — X30 Senior | Team Driver Racing Kart | 5th |
| Andrea Margutti Trophy —OK | 3rd | ||
| WSK Euro Series —OK | 18th | ||
| IAME Euro Series — X30 Senior | 46th | ||
| CIK-FIA European Championship —OK | NC | ||
| IAME International Final — X30 Senior | NC | ||
| Sources:[104][105] | |||
| Season | Series | Team | Races | Wins | Poles | F/Laps | Podiums | Points | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Italian F4 Championship | Iron Lynx | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 108 | 9th |
| ADAC Formula 4 Championship | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | NC† | ||
| 2021 | Italian F4 Championship | Iron Lynx | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 180 | 5th |
| ADAC Formula 4 Championship | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | NC† | ||
| 2022 | Formula Regional Asian Championship | Hitech Grand Prix | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | 17th |
| Formula Regional European Championship | Trident | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 83 | 8th | |
| 2023 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Trident | 18 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 11th |
| 2024 | FIA Formula 3 Championship | Trident | 20 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 153 | 1st |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship | Rodin Motorsport | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 29th | |
| 2025 | FIA Formula 2 Championship | Invicta Racing | 27 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 9 | 211 | 1st |
| 2026 | Formula One | McLaren Mastercard F1 Team | Reserve driver | ||||||
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Iron Lynx | MIS 1 4 | MIS 2 15 | MIS 3 9 | IMO1 1 17 | IMO1 2 17 | IMO1 3 5 | RBR 1 13 | RBR 2 26 | RBR 3 10 | MUG 1 5 | MUG 2 12 | MUG 3 14 | MNZ 1 4 | MNZ 2 4 | MNZ 3 3 | IMO2 1 4 | IMO2 2 5 | IMO2 3 6 | VLL 1 8 | VLL 2 C | VLL 3 16 | 9th | 108 |
| 2021 | Iron Lynx | LEC 1 7 | LEC 2 8 | LEC 3 4 | MIS 1 1 | MIS 2 3 | MIS 3 2 | VLL 1 10 | VLL 2 8 | VLL 3 8 | IMO 1 Ret | IMO 2 2 | IMO 3 2 | RBR 1 6 | RBR 2 2 | RBR 3 7 | MUG 1 Ret | MUG 2 8 | MUG 3 2 | MNZ 1 9 | MNZ 2 Ret | MNZ 3 DNS | 5th | 180 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Pos | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | Iron Lynx | LAU1 1 | LAU1 2 | LAU1 3 | NÜR1 1 | NÜR1 2 | NÜR1 3 | HOC 1 11 | HOC 2 13 | HOC 3 12 | NÜR2 1 | NÜR2 2 | NÜR2 3 | RBR 1 | RBR 2 | RBR 3 | LAU2 1 | LAU2 2 | LAU2 3 | OSC 1 | OSC 2 | OSC 3 | NC† | 0 |
| 2021 | Iron Lynx | RBR 1 5 | RBR 2 3 | RBR 3 11 | ZAN 1 Ret | ZAN 2 13 | ZAN 3 8 | NÜR 1 | NÜR 2 | NÜR 3 | HOC1 1 | HOC1 2 | HOC1 3 | SAC 1 | SAC 2 | SAC 3 | HOC2 1 | HOC2 2 | HOC2 3 | NC† | 0 | |||
† As Fornaroli was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Hitech Grand Prix | ABU 1 8 | ABU 2 5 | ABU 3 22† | DUB 1 11 | DUB 2 8 | DUB 3 11 | DUB 1 9 | DUB 2 26† | DUB 3 9 | DUB 1 | DUB 2 | DUB 3 | ABU 1 | ABU 2 | ABU 3 | 17th | 22 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Trident | MNZ 1 10 | MNZ 2 15 | IMO 1 8 | IMO 2 8 | MCO 1 9 | MCO 2 12 | LEC 1 20 | LEC 2 23 | ZAN 1 8 | ZAN 2 5 | HUN 1 4 | HUN 2 5 | SPA 1 6 | SPA 2 8 | RBR 1 19 | RBR 2 10 | CAT 1 9 | CAT 2 8 | MUG 1 5 | MUG 2 8 | 8th | 83 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate points for the fastest lap of the top ten finishers)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Trident | BHR SPR 8 | BHR FEA 27 | MEL SPR 7 | MEL FEA 4 | MON SPR 2 | MON FEA 24 | CAT SPR 3 | CAT FEA NC | RBR SPR 15 | RBR FEA 10 | SIL SPR 7 | SIL FEA 2 | HUN SPR 13 | HUN FEA 9 | SPA SPR 9 | SPA FEA 14 | MNZ SPR 8 | MNZ FEA 15 | 11th | 69 | ||
| 2024 | Trident | BHR SPR 3 | BHR FEA 7 | MEL SPR 9 | MEL FEA 2 | IMO SPR 11 | IMO FEA 3 | MON SPR 9 | MON FEA 5 | CAT SPR 7 | CAT FEA 3 | RBR SPR 12 | RBR FEA 9 | SIL SPR 10 | SIL FEA 7 | HUN SPR 7 | HUN FEA 3 | SPA SPR 9 | SPA FEA 3 | MNZ SPR 8 | MNZ FEA 2 | 1st | 153 |
(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)
| Year | Entrant | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | DC | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Rodin Motorsport | BHR SPR | BHR FEA | JED SPR | JED FEA | MEL SPR | MEL FEA | IMO SPR | IMO FEA | MON SPR | MON FEA | CAT SPR | CAT FEA | RBR SPR | RBR FEA | SIL SPR | SIL FEA | HUN SPR | HUN FEA | SPA SPR | SPA FEA | MNZ SPR | MNZ FEA | BAK SPR | BAK FEA | LSL SPR | LSL FEA | YMC SPR 10 | YMC FEA 13 | 29th | 0 |
| 2025 | Invicta Racing | MEL SPR 2 | MEL FEA C | BHR SPR 8 | BHR FEA 3 | JED SPR 7 | JED FEA 4 | IMO SPR 7 | IMO FEA 5 | MON SPR 7 | MON FEA 2 | CAT SPR 7 | CAT FEA 21† | RBR SPR 16† | RBR FEA 2 | SIL SPR 1 | SIL FEA 6 | SPA SPR 1 | SPA FEA 5 | HUN SPR 5 | HUN FEA 1 | MNZ SPR 1 | MNZ FEA 5 | BAK SPR 5 | BAK FEA 5 | LSL SPR 6 | LSL FEA 2 | YMC SPR 17 | YMC FEA 11 | 1st | 211 |
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Formula Regional European Championship Rookie Champion 2022 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | FIA Formula 3 Championship Champion 2024 | Succeeded by |
| FIA Formula 2 Championship Champion 2025 | Incumbent | |
