Newly crowned Formula 2 Champion, Leonardo Fornaroli has become one of three new signings to the McLaren Driver Development Programme, with the Italian joining alongside fellow F2 racer Richard Verschoor and 2025 FIA European Karting Champion Christian Costoya.
Fornaroli sealed the F2 title during the Feature Race in Qatar, the Invicta Racing driver taking P2 in the event to confirm his championship triumph following a season in which he has claimed four victories and five podiums.
It also marks back-to-back titles for the 20 year old, who emulated the likes of Oscar Piastri and Gabriel Borotleto by winning the the F2 Championship off the back of doing the same in Formula 3 one year earlier.
Now becoming part of the McLaren family, Fornaroli will take on a test and development role within the F1 team’s structure.
Also joining the programme is Verschoor, who finished third this season in the Formula 2 Championship. The 24 year old from the Netherlands has won four races during the current campaign.
Another signing by McLaren is 15 year old Costoya. The Spanish teenager has claimed multiple karting championships and is set to make his single seater debut in the 2026 F4 Middle East Championship at the Yas Marina Circuit on January 16th – 18th.
McLaren Racing are delighted to welcome two of Formula 2’s current leading drivers in this year’s Champion Leonardo Fornaroli and former Championship contender and fellow front-runner Richard Verschoor, as well as proven karting champion, Christian Costoya, to the McLaren Racing Driver Development Programme. All three talented drivers have shown great race craft with multiple wins this season, alongside a number of impressive performances in their respective championships. By welcoming Christian to the programme alongside long-standing member, Dries Van Langendonck, we now also have two of the most promising drivers coming out of karting. It is a key priority that we continue to develop our talent pipeline to provide options for all of our expanding racing teams. We look forward to working closely with all our drivers in 2026 as they continue their individual development at various stages of their career with the support of the programme through a wide range of testing and progression opportunities across all of our racing series. Alessandro Alunni Bravi, Chief Business Affairs Officer, McLaren Racing.
Leonardo Fornaroli kicked off his Lusail weekend in strong form, setting the fastest time of the free practice session with a 1:38.656. The Invicta Racing driver completed that time with his final lap of the 45 minute outing, with Hitech TGR’s Dino Beganovic in second and Rodin Motorsport’s Alexander Dunne in third.
After the first set of laps though, it was MP Motorsport’s Richard Verschoor who topped the timesheets with a 1:41.163, with Fornaroli in second, over two-tenths behind.
Fornaroli then led the way with a 1:40.342, but it was close at the top, as Verschoor and Victor Martins went to within 0.080s off the Italian’s leading time.
Luke Browning then took over at the top on a 1:39.701, while Verschoor made things even closer, going to within 0.009s of his title rival, as Fornaroli settled into P3.
Browning lowered the time to beat on his next attempt with a 1:39.285, and this time he was followed by the Invicta pairing of Fornaroli and Roman Stanek. The Hitech TGR driver then ducked into the pitlane after that lap but the Championship leader continued on and went fastest on a 1:39.064.
Browning had then been on a quicker lap but ran wide in the final sector. However, his teammate Beganovic continued to fly the Hitech flag going to P2, 0.044s off Fornaroli’s time.
As the session entered its final stages, the drivers were still finding time on their hard tyres, with Dunne jumping up to third. Fornaroli continued to set the standard and improved to a 1:38.656 on his final lap, although Beganovic closed to the gap to 0.102s moment later.
Qualifying-
Oliver Goethe claimed his maiden FIA Formula 2 Aramco Pole Position Award, logging a 1:36.115 for MP Motorsport.
Championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli had been fastest for much of the qualifying session but was bested by just 0.040s to wind up second, ahead of ART Grand Prix’s Victor Martins in third.
PREMA Racing’s Sebastian Montoya set the early pace before the Invicta Racing duo of Roman Stanek and then Fornaroli went quicker still. The pair were split by Jak Crawford, but it was the Championship leader that went P1 on a 1:37.850 after the first laps.
Martins delivered a 1:37.512 to go to the top on his second attempt, until MP Motorsport teammates Oliver Goethe and Richard Verschoor went 1-2.
Stanek put Invicta back on top with a 1:37.189, but teammate Fornaroli once again went quickest of all, this time laying down on a 1:36.996. Several drivers began to peel into the pitlane to bring their first run to a close, but Goethe went to within 0.075s of Fornaroli on his third flying lap, improving to P2.
Into the final 10 minutes and everyone returned to the track with fresh Soft tyres and Dino Beganovic delivered a time good enough for provisional pole on a 1:36.826.
Fornaroli was flying behind though, and he went back to P1 on a 1:36.307. Stanek cut the gap down to 0.214s in P2, while Goethe delivered the third-quickest time to go ahead of Beganovic.
Goethe though found enough time to go in front of Fornaroli as both drivers improved on their final attempts, just 0.040s between them in favour of the MP driver as he set a 1:36.115.
However, Goethe was handed a grid penalty following the conclusion of qualifying, as he impeded Martinius Stenshorne at Turn 6. It then promotes Leonardo Fornaroli for pole position in the feature race.
Sprint Race-
Duerksen got the best launch from the front row to take the lead from Verschoor, while Nikola Tsolov slotted into third place on the run to Turn 1.
Championship leader, Leonardo Fornaroli went wheel-to-wheel with teammate Roman Stanek on the opening lap and attempted a move on the second tour, though was unable to clear his teammate as the Invicta Racing pair fought over seventh place.
Onto Lap 4, and with DRS enabled, Verschoor had clawed his way back to within a second of Duerksen and he swept back into the lead at Turn 1.
The MP title-hopeful was comfortably the fastest driver on track in the following laps, extending his advantage over the pack to two seconds.
Further back, a wide moment at Turn 4 on Lap 12 lost Victory Martins P11 to Dino Beganovic and on the following tour he was passed by Gabriele Mini, dropping him to 13th.
Lap 14 and a collision between TRIDENT teammate Laurens van Hoepen and James Wharton left the latter beached in the gravel at Turn 1. It brought out the Safety Car and wiped out race leader Verschoor’s four-second advantage.
Stanek opted to pit, the only driver from inside the top 10 to fit the softs, while Arvid Lindblad, Oliver Goethe, John Bennett, Luke Browning, Cian Shields and Kush Maini also fitted the red-marked tyres. The DAMS Lucas Oil driver did however come to a halt before racing resumed, extending the Safety Car period.
Racing resumed entering Lap 17 with Verschoor retaining his lead over Duerksen with seven laps to go. By Lap 20, the advantage was back out to 2.4s with Tsolov trailing by a further second in P3.
A spin for Shields on the exit of Turn 5 brought out the Safety Car once more, bringing the pack back together and setting up a final lap shootout. Verschoor got things back underway and the fight for the podium places heading into Turn 1 was on.
Tsolov was rounded by Villagomez, who ran wide ahead of Turn 2 but claimed the place, whilst the Bulgarian driver went wide himself and fell from third to 10th.
The Dutch driver was untroubled though, taking the Lusail Sprint Race victory ahead of Duerksen and Villagomez after his final lap pass on Tsolov.
Feature Race-
It was a great start from Martins, taking the lead from Fornaroli going into Turn 1, while Dunne took P4 for Oliver Goethe at Turn 3.
The Rodin driver was chasing Roman Stanek for third, but ran wide at the final corner. It allowed Goethe and Nikola Tsolov to close in, although Dunne was able to hold off the chasing pair.
Martins then set the fastest lap and by the start of lap 3, he had built up a 1.7s gap to Fornaroli, with the Italian coming on the radio to complain of his soft tyres to his Invicta tam.
Further behind them, Sebastian Montoya used the DRS to good effect to get ahead of Tsolov for P6 into Turn 1. Martins was 4.1s clear of Fornaroli by the start of Lap 5, and it looked like Invicta were struggling on the soft tyres, as Dunne overtook Stanek for P3 into Turn 1.
The pit window opened up at the end of Lap 6 and Fornaroli, Dunne, Montoya, Verschoor and Duerksen came in to swap to the Hard tyres.
The race leader was in on the next lap, joined in the pitlane by Goethe and Stanek. It was a slow stop for Martins, but he was still able to come back out ahead of Fornaroli and Dunne.
At the front of the field, Dino Beganovic was the lead driver on the alternative strategy and by the end of Lap 10, he had built a 7.1s lead to Arvid Lindblad.
But in the battle for the net race lead, Fornaroli and Dunne were closing in on Martins, the Championship leader 1.4s behind by the start of Lap 11. Verschoor was looking to fight his way through the field and having overtaken Villagomez, he bided his time before overtaking Stanek, putting him in a net P7.
The Safety Car was then deployed on Lap 15, with Oliver Goethe having stopped on track, just as Dunne and Tsolov were given five-second time penalties for an unsafe release in the pitlane.
Racing resumed on Lap 17 of 32, and Beganovic once again was showing good pace, and had built a 1.7s lead to teammate Luke Browning by the start of the next lap.
Martins was now up to fifth, leading the drivers who had pitted, but he was struggling to overtake Laurens van Hoepen, allowing Fornaroli to close in on the Frenchman.
Beganovic was 4.2s clear of Browning at the start of Lap 22, while Fornaroli was now 1.1s behind Martins, just as Lindblad on his Soft tyres, continued to reduce the gap.
But by Lap 25, the option tyre runners were starting to struggle, as Dunne closed in on Lindblad for seventh on the road. However, the Campos Racing driver held him off at Turn 1.
In the battle for the net race lead, Fornaroli was now within DRS range of Martins, while Dunne went to the inside of Lindblad at Turn 1 to take seventh place.
After a superb stint, Beganovic was called in to fit the softs at the end of Lap 27, coming back out in P12. Browning and Bennett then pitted on Lap 29, leaving Martins and Fornaroli to fight for the race win.
However the ART driver was 1.1s clear of Fornaroli, as Dunne closed in, looking to build the five second gap he needed to keep third ahead of Lindblad. But out in front, Martins had done enough to win the Feature Race, but the day belonged to Fornaroli, as he claimed the 2025 FIA Formula 2 title by finishing second.
Oliver Goethe got the Sakhir race weekend off to a great start for MP Motorsport, leading teammate Richard Vershoor in Free Practice around the Bahrain International Circuit.
The Red Bull Junior driver saved his best effort for the final minutes, a 1:47.789 leaving him fastest going into Qualifying. Campos Racing’s Josep Maria Marti rounded out the top three.
Joshua Duerksen got the ball rolling in the session, recording a 1:48.954 as the early benchmark time for AIX Racing. DAMS Lucas Oil’s Jak Crawford went second in the opening 10 minutes, just 0.022s down on the Paraguayan.
Marti moved to P1 as the clock ticked into the final 20 minutes. He set a 1:48.379 for Campos, 0.008s quicker than Victor Martins who moved up to P2 in his Williams liveried – ART Grand Prix car.
Much of the remaining laps were dedicated to race running, though Goethe surged to the top in the final two minutes with a 1:47.789 for MP.
Qualifying-
It was a direct fight between Leonardo Fornaroli and Victor Martins for top spot, with the former earning his first Formula 2 pole position in the end.
The Invicta Racing driver secured P1 with a 1:44.008 to pip the Frenchman by over a tenth, while Hitech TGR’s Luke Browning earned third position at the chequered flag.
After several build laps, ART’s Martins set the early pace and benchmark to beat, going to the top with a 1:45.110.
Rodin Motorsport driver, Alexander Duune was just 0.002s down on that effort to go second but they were both blown out of the water by Fornaroli, who laid down a 1:44.642 for the top.
Half of the field opted to wait and as the first 11 returned to the pitlane, the others joined the circuit for their first attempts. Josep Maria Marti was the quickest of the second group, going up to P2 for Campos Racing and 0.223s down on the provisional pole sitter.
With eight minutes remaining, everyone rejoined the circuit for their final attempts. Martins improved to re-take the top spot with a 1:44.163 and he was comfortably clear, but Fornaroli denied him once more, going back to P1 to earn his maiden F2 pole position.
The full top 10 are- Pole: Fornaroli, P2: Martins, P3: Browing, P4: Dunne, P5: Stanek, P6: Verschoor, P7: Meguetounif, P8: Villagomez, P9: Beganovic and P10: Duerksen.
Rodin Motorsport have confirmed that Leonardo Fornaroli will replace Zane Maloney for the final round of the Formula 2 season at Yas Marina.
Fornaroli makes the step up to F2 fresh from winning the 2024 Formula 3 title thanks to his seven podium finishes, two pole positions and two fastest laps.
The 19 year old will now get behind the wheel of F2 machinery for the first time at the last round of the season. Maloney had his final race weekend with the team in Lusail.
Maloney is moving to Formula E, with the season starting next month at the Sao Paulo E-Prix with Round 1 on the 7th December. The same weekend as the finale for F1, F2 and F1 Academy!
Very grateful to be able to do the last round of the F2 Championship with Rodin Motorsport who are such a good team in the series. It will be a big challenge for me because this is my first time in the F2 car without any practice so I have a lot to learn but I can’t wait for it and I’m looking forward to being behind the wheel in Abu Dhabi Fornaroli on the news.
I wish Leo a great weekend in Abu Dhabi. I will miss working with the Rodin Motorsport team and look forward to seeing their success in the future! But we still have one more weekend in Qatar to look ahead to and finish off our season strongly. Maloney on the news.
It’s great to welcome Leo to the team for the final round of the season. It’s going to be a step up for him, but we’ve seen what he can do in Formula 3, and we’re confident he’ll adapt quickly and perform well. Obviously, we still have one more round in Qatar to look forward to with Zane on board before he begins his Formula E season; we thank him for his contributions and wish him the best in his new venture. Benn Huntingford, Team Manager.
Leonardo Fornaroli will step up to Formula 2 next season with Invicta Racing the team have confirmed.
After winning the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Drivers’ Championship at the final round in Monza, Fornaroli’s next step is finalised, with the Italian driver the first to be announced for the 2025 campaign.
As part of his preparations for the 2025 season, the team has confirmed that Fornaroli will be participating in the post-season test in Abu Dhabi later this year with the team.
Fornaroli enjoyed his finest season to date, achieving seven podium finishes, two pole position and two fastest laps en route to the title with Trident.
I’m so happy to be able to celebrate winning the F3 championship with this news and I cannot wait to step up to Formula 2 next season. Invicta Racing has proven itself over many years to be one of the best teams in Formula 2, including this season. I’m really excited to work with the team for the 2025 season. I want to take this opportunity to thank Trident for the past three years, they really are the best team in F3. To go from the best team in F3 to the best in F2 is a truly a dream come true. Fornaroli on the news.
We’re absolutely delighted to welcome Leonardo to the team for 2025. Winning the FIA Formula 3 Championship is an incredible achievement for him and I have no doubt that he’ll do a brilliant job in 2025. We’ve followed Leonardo’s single-seater career for a few years now and it’s clear that he’s an outstanding talent. Following in the footsteps of Gabriel this year, we’re thrilled to have the FIA Formula 3 Champion join our team for the second year in a row. Andy Roche, Team Principal of Invicta Racing.
Campos Racing’s Mari Boya started the Monza weekend on top, setting a 1:38.172 to lead the pack in Free Practice.
The Spaniard saved his best time for last, able to pip Christian Mansell and Callum Voisin who wound up second and third for ART Grand Prix and Rodin Motorsport respectively.
Gabriele Mini was the first driver to put down a laptime, setting a 1:41.324 to lead early on. The Italian lowered his personal best shortly afterwards to a 1:40.583 with the opening 10 minutes gone.
Teammate and title rival Arvid Lindblad had a minor off track excursion at Lesmo 2 as the PREMA driver ran wide and through the gravel but was able to rejoin.
A Virtual Safety Car was deployed with just over half an hour to go after Kacper Sztuka came to a halt ahead of the Parabolica.
With the car cleared, green flag running resumed but a Red Flag followed with 25 minutes remaining. Several drivers ran through the gravel at the Variante della Roggia chicane to leave the track covered in gravel.
Into the final 15 minutes and the times rolled in, with Boya putting his Campos car at the head of the field on a 1:39.998 before Noel Leon beat that for Van Amersfoort Racing by 0.139s.
Luke Browning then put his first time on the board to go quickest of all by almost three-tenths of a second on a 1:39.574. Leon returned to P1 on his next lap to lower the benchmark time to a 1:39.470 heading into the final 10 minutes of running.
Mini then restored himself to the top spot with a 1:38.998, 0.4s quicker than Leon’s effort and comfortably fastest of the title contenders. Mansell lifted himself up the order with a 1:39.153 to go second-fastest for ART Grand Prix inside the final five minutes.
Boya then displaced the Australian to go within 0.031s of Mini’s time until the Italian finished off his final effort to improve one last time.
Qualifying-
Group A- The even-numbered cars lined up to get on track first, including the top three in the Drivers’ Championship.
There was just one time on the board with just over five minutes to go, though Max Esterson’s 2:10.419 was not a push lap as everyone began to play for track position.
Contact between Laurens van Hoepen and Kacper Sztuka out of Lesmo 1 left debris on the track and both with damage, leading to a red flag.
The first segment resumed with five minutes to go and everyone else was straight back out onto the circuit.
Esterson headed out the queue without a tow and recorded the first proper lap to beat with a 1:40.558 but that was beaten immediately.
Luke Browning went quicker but his time was bettered by Mari Boya and Joshua Dufek, with the latter taking provisional top spot with a 1:38.287
Championship leader Leonardo Fornaroli wound up seventh on his first attempt, seven-tenths down on the time to beat. The Italian reset and on his second and final effort, he recorded a 1:38.287 to go quickest of all while title rival Gabriele Mini moved himself up to second at the chequered flag.
Group B-
The odd-numbered half of the grid followed suit in waiting before getting out on track for their first attempts.
ART Grand Prix were the first to blink and sent Nikola Tsolov and Christian Mansell out in front, with the rest of the pack trailing the pair out of the pitlane.
Mansell had overtaken his teammate but then backed off in hopes of gaining a tow as the clock ticked to three minutes remaining. With nobody obliging, the Australian headed up the train for the first attempts but backed off before he completed the lap as others followed suit.
Martinius Stenshorne wasn’t one of them though and recorded the first time to beat on a 1:39.273. That was beaten by fellow McLarn Driver Alex Dunne, who went provisionally quickest in Group B with a 1:38.818.
Everyone had time for one final attempt but nobody could beat the MP driver’s effort, though no one was close to Fornaroli’s time from Group A.
With the results aggregated together, Fornaroli will line up on Pole for Sunday’s Feature Race ahead of Dunne on the front row in P2. Mini will go from third with Meguetounif in P4. Ramos rounded out the top five.
Day 2 Sprint Race-
Before the lights could go out, title contender Christian Mansell radioed into his ART Grand Prix that he was stuck in third gear. A second formation lap was required but the Australian was able to get off the grid, though he had to start from the pitlane for causing the delay.
At the race start, reverse grid pole sitter Tramnitz covered off Dino Beganovic on the run to Turn 1 before going wheel to wheel with Montoya, who had to skip over Turn 2 but settled into second after passing the PREMA driver.
A Safety Car was deployed on lap 2 after Noel Leon and Nikita Bedrin wound up in the gravel after contact at Turn 2 with Tommy Smith, requiring the former cars to be cleared away/
Racing got back underway entering lap 6 but a big snap through Parabolica put Montoya under immediate pressure from Beganovic. However, the Colombian held onto the second into the first chicane.
Joseph Loake and Tasanapol Inthraphuvasak ran through the gravel at Turn 4, allowing Lindblad and Fornaroli to move up into the points in ninth and 10th places respectively, with Browning and Mini followed directly behind.
With DRS on the run to Ascari, Fornaroli battled by Lindblad on lap 7 to secure ninth position from the PREMA driver. Teammate Ramos meanwhile was able to move ahead of Beganovic to take third place, and he was quickly onto the rear wing of Campos’ Montoya.
Lap 10 and after two previous unsuccessful attempts, Browning passed Lindblad for 10th position to move into the points. Meanwhile Fornaroli’s charge continued as he passed Mari Boya for seventh.
Montoya stuck with Ramos after being passed and re-took second into the first corner on Lap 12, while teammate Sami Meguetounif was able to move ahead of Beganovic at the same spot. Alex Dunne meanwhile relegated Beganovic to sixth just before the second Safety Car of the race.
Max Esterson and Piotr Wisnicki had collided at the first chicane and were out of the running. Both drivers were OK, but their cars needed clearing away.
Tramnitz retained the lead but further back, Browning cleared Fornaroli into Turn 1 to take eighth place. The leader held on from Montoya and Ramos, while Dunne and Beganovic rounded out the top five.
Meguetounif cleared Boya after the Campos driver ran through the gravel at Ascari, a mistake that allowed Browning to move up one place further to earn seventh.
The full top 10 are- P1: Tramnitz, P2: Ramos, P3: Dunne, P4: Beganovic, P5: Meguetounif, P6: Browning, P7: Boya, P8: Fornaroli, P9: Mini and P10: Stenshorne.
Day 3 Feature Race-
Fornaroli covered off Alex Dunne immediately at lights out and retained his lead into the first chicane, with MP Motorsport following ahead of Mini in third.
Into Parabolica the Irish driver was down the inside of the Championship leader to take first. Just behind, teammate Sami Meguetounif took third from Mini with a slipstream into the first corner going into Lap 2.
Further back, Luke Browning was up to 11th from 13th on the grid after the opening lap, but dropped to 12th after compatriot Joseph Loake was able to get the tow on Lap 3.
Battling into Ascari, Browning was side-by-side with Nikola Tsolov but spun on corner entry, Several drivers then made contact in a separate incident further on in the corner to bring out a Safety Car with Shields, Floersch and Zagazeta left out of the running with damage. Browning was able to continue but was down in 26th position.
Back to racing conditions entering Lap 7, Dunne kept hold of the lead ahead of Fornaroli, but Mini dropped down to fifth after Christian Mansell got ahead into the first corner.
Fighting for the lead into Ascari, Fornaroli went wide mid-corner and took a trip through the gravel, dropping him down to fifth position and crucially behind Mini.
Up ahead, Meguetounif moved ahead of Dunne at Turn 1 under braking to take the lead on Lap 10. Mansell was on the move on the following lap, rounding Dunne at the Roggia chicane to take second place in ART.
Onto Lap 15 and Fornaroli was in the DRS of Dunne and through for third position at Turn 1 to put a car between himself and Mini. The PREMA driver put a pass on Dunne himself on the following lap to move into fourth position and keep Fornaroli in his sights.
Lap 18 and Fornaroli was on the move again, this time taking second position from Mansell at the first corner despite a sizeable lock-up. Mini followed through later on in the lap at Ascari to remain within a second of the championship leader.
Another lock-up on Lap 20 at Turn 1 for Fornaroli allowed Mini to close right onto the back of the Trident.
Onto the penultimate lap and Mini got the move down to pass his title rival who then had Mansell attacking into the Roggia chicane and the ART driver got ahead, tipping the title battle in favour of the PREMA driver.
Onto the final lap and Mini was desperate to keep Mansell behind and worked hard to break the tow. Fornaroli was in the wheel tracks of the ART out of the first chicane and tried to get a late-braking move done but had to skip across the second chicane, forcing him to hand the place back.
Meguetounif was clear to take his second win in F3 ahead of Mini, but with a final corner lunge on Mansell, Fornaroli cleared the Australian taking P3 and sealing the title.
The full top 10 are- P1: Meguetounif, P2: Fornaroli, P3: Mansell, P4: Dunne, P5: Stenshorne, P6: Tramnitz, P7: Leon, P8: Van Hoepen, P9: Beganovic and P10: Dufek.
After the conclusion of the Feature Race, several drivers have been given post-race penalties, while Gabriele Mini has been disqualified as the car had not met the minimum requirement with regards to its tyre pressures.
Consequently this promotes Leonardo Fornaroli to second and Christian Mansell to third.
PREMA Racing’s Gabriele Mini set the early pace in Melbourne as the Italian topped timesheets in Free Practice ahead of Qualifying thanks to a time of 1:33.225.
Mini proved to be the one to beat for the majority of the morning session with compatriot Leonardo Fornaroli his nearest challenger, ending up three-tenths off his time. PREMA teammate Dino Beganovic wound up third.
But at the start of proceedings it was an all-PREMA top three as Mini hit the ground running with a lap of 1:34.874, leading Beganovic by three tenths, as Arvid Lindblad tucked into third.
Soon after, Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Cian Shields spun into the barrier at the final corner, bringing out the Red Flags after 15 minutes of running. The drivers were back out on track with half of the session remaining and once again it was Mini who set the pace, strengthening his grip on P1.
With three minutes left in the session, another Red Flag was waved after ART Grand Prix driver Nikola Tsolov collided with MP Motorsport’s rookie Alex Dunne. The Irishman ended up in the barriers, and the session was not resumed.
Qualifying-
Trident’s Leonardo Fornaroli took his second Formula 3 pole position, beating rival Gabriele Mini to take the top spot in Melbourne thanks to his time of 1:33.044.
Mini had provisional pole until the final flying laps and wound up just 0.019s off the top spot, but sealed a front row start for the Feature Race, with his teammate Dino Beganovic in third.
After the first set of laps Fornaroli set the pace thanks to his time of 1:33.882 with Free Practice timesheet-topper Mini over four-tenths back of his compatriot in second. The Trident driver could not improve on his next attempt, but the PREMA racer did and closed the gap to 0.020s. Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning then went up to third, two-tenths back of Fornaroli’s time.
With only five minutes left in the session, Sami Meguetounif crashed his Trident into the barrier at the exit of the final corner bringing out the red flags. Moments prior, Mini had gone up to P1 with a 1:33.505.
The lights went green, which left the drivers with four and a half minutes to set their final laps, and it was Fornaroli who took pole position.
The full top 10 are – P1: Fornaroli, P2: Mini, P3: Beganovic, P4: Bedrin, P5: Browning, P6: Tsolov, P7: Lindblad, P8: Goethe, P9: Mansell and P10: Stenshorne.
Trident have confirmed that Leonardo Fornaroli will be sticking with the team for his second FIA Formula 3 season in 2024.
The Italian driver finished the 2023 season 11th in the Drivers’ Championship where he took one pole position and three podiums in his rookie year.
When Fornaroli arrived in F3 he had plenty of seasons-worth of single-seater experience under his belt. He achieved a top 10 finish in each of his first three years in car racing, ending ninth in Italian F4 in 2020 before following that up with P5 in 2021 before finishing the Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine eighth in 2022.
Ahead of his 2024 campaign with Trident, Fornaroli said he was very excited to be continuing his F3 career with the team.
I am obviously very excited to be staying with Trident Motorsport for another season. This team became like a family for me where I could find the highest culture of motorsport. This is a great slot for me because Trident Motorsport has shown many times that it is one of the best places for a young driver to be in FIA Formula 3, and I intend to make the most of this opportunity while doing the best possible job for the team.
Fornaroli on the news.
We are delighted to confirm Leonardo Fornaroli in our FIA Formula 3 Championship lineup. For the Piacenza-born driver, it will be the third season with us and the confirmation of a positive collaboration that will have increasingly ambitious goals. In the past season, Fornaroli has been one of the best rookies of the series. He delivered a solid performance and consistent growth. The goal for him will be to raise the level and compete at the top of the series.
Hitech Pulse-Eight’s Luke Browning started his and his team’s home event in fine form, setting a 1:45.794 to lead the way in Free Practice.
With the Championship leader, Gabriel Bortoleto following closely in second position and Dino Beganovic in third making him the highest-placed PREMA driver.
Sebastian Montoya got the weekend rolling with a 1:48.957 and the initial time to beat. Leonardo Fornaroli and then Franco Colapinto quickly beating that.
There was contact between Kaylen Frederick and Zak O’Sullivan at Turn 16 as traffic began to build up and drivers searched for clean air. The Briton was able to continue in the session, but the ART Grand Prix driver was out after sustaining suspension damage and recovering to the pitlane.
Browning continued to lap quickly, lowering his best time to a 1:45.946 before a Virtual Safety Car was deployed to recover debris left by the earlier contact.
Back to green flag conditions with 12 minutes left, and there were very few improvements as Bortoleto moved himself up to second on a 1:46.075s.
Qualifying-
Leonardo Fornaroli headed up a Trident 1-2 around Silverstone, taking his maiden Formula 3 pole position with a 1:45.520.
Fornaroli’s teammate, Oliver Goethe followed in second after making a late improvement, whilst Josep Maria Marti led the Campos Racing effort in third.
Gabriele Mini set the early pace with a 1:46.619 which was swiftly beaten by teammate Luke Browning. The Tridents of Gabriel Bortoleto and Oliver Goethe crossed the line to split the two Hitech drivers, with the top three covered by just 0.120s.
The track filled up once more after a swap to fresh tyres with less than 10 minutes remaining of Qualifying.
Mini, Browning and Aron each improved on their next efforts but only the Estonian driver got to within a quarter of a second of Fornaroli’s provisional pole time.
The full top 10 are- P1: Fornaroli, P2: Goethe, P3: Marti, P4: Mansell, P5: Bortoleto, P6: Aron, P7: Mini, P8: Browning, P9: Colapinto and P10: Barnard.
Trident have announced that they have signed Leonardo Fornaroli for the 2023 Formula 3 season.
Completing their driver line-up, the Italian racer will be competing alongside Oliver Goethe, and fellow Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine graduate, Gabriel Bortoleto.
The 18 year old joins F3 off the back of a successful maiden FRECA campaign with the Italian team, scoring 15 points finishes in 20 races. His consistency was well rewarded, finishing eighth in the Drivers’ Championship and taking the honours as the rookie of the year.
Having made his single-seater debut in 2020, Fornaroli dovetailed his rookie season in Italian F4 with a three race stint in ADAC Formula 4. Returning for a second campaign in Italian F4 last year, he seized one victory, seven podiums and two pole positions on his way to fifth in the standings.
Progressing up to FRECA in 2022, he also made a three round appearance in the Formula Regional Asian Championship at the start of the year.
Featuring for Trident at the post-season test in Jerez, Fornaroli notched in over 180 laps across the three days and made two top six appearances during the second day of running.
I’m happy to continue my journey with Trident Motorsport, after this year’s success in Formula Regional with the team. I believe Trident is the best place to keep growing and learning and to be able to debut in Formula 3 with them is a great opportunity for me. For these reasons, I would like to thank Maurizio Salvadori and his team for the trust and confidence they have in me. I also would like to thank my family, my manager, my coach and my sponsors for their ongoing support and help.
Leonardo Fornaroli on his move.
Leonardo Fornaroli is without a doubt a promising young driver and we are proud to be with him in his debut in Formula 3. The path followed by Leonardo testifies the great work value made by Trident Motorsport to help young talents grow in minor categories with the goal of helping and preparing them for a future in Formula 1.
Jordan's Track Talk 