Misplaced Pages

Leonardo Fornaroli
Fornaroli driving the Dallara F3 2019 during the 2024 Spielberg Formula 3 round
Born	(2004-12-03) 3 December 2004 (age 20) Piacenza, Emilia-Romagna, Italy
Nationality	Italian
FIA Formula 2 Championship career
Debut season	2025
Current team	Invicta
Car number	1
Former teams	Rodin
Starts	1 (1 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	0
Poles	0
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	TBD in 2025
Previous series
2023–2024 2022 2022 2020–2021 2020–2021	FIA Formula 3 FR European FR Asian Italian F4 ADAC F4
Championship titles
2024 2022	FIA Formula 3 FR European – Rookie

Leonardo Fornaroli (born 3 December 2004) is an Italian racing driver, who is set to compete in the 2025 FIA Formula 2 Championship for Invicta.

Fornaroli won the 2024 FIA Formula 3 Championship in his second year with Trident, and was the first champion in the sport's history to not win a single race in both his championship-winning campaign and his entire Formula 3 career. He is also the 2022 Formula Regional European rookie champion.

Career

Karting

Fornaroli began karting 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. He came runner-up in the 2017 X30 Challenge Italy, in a season that also included entry to international IAME events, but found more success in 2018, when he was third in the Italian Karting Championship and made his full-time European debut in the WSK Super Master Series. Fornaroli's final year in karting would prove to be his best, as he was a front-runner in the 2019 WSK Euro Series on his OK debut and finished 3rd in the prestigious Trofeo Andrea Margutti. At the end of the year, he was invited to participate in the 16th edition of the annual Supercorso Federale event at Vallelunga, as one of five young karting talents selected by ACI Sport and the Ferrari Driver Academy.

Lower formulas

2020

Having tested a Formula 4 car for the first time at the Supercorso Federale, 2020 would see Fornaroli make his debut in the Italian F4 Championship, driving for sportscar racing team Iron Lynx, which extended its program to single-seaters. He repaid the faith straightaway, taking a solid fourth-place finish on debut at Misano. He would go on to score eight top-five finishes from 20 races, including a podium at Monza, and finished ninth in the overall standings on 108 points. At the end of the year, as an award for his performances, Fornaroli was again invited to ACI Sport's Supercorso Federale, together with F4 rivals Gabriele Minì, Francesco Pizzi, Andrea Rosso and four karting drivers.

2021

In 2021 Fornaroli remained in the series with Iron Lynx, partnering new Ferrari Driver Academy recruit Maya Weug and Pietro Armanni. He was the highest-placed driver in the 2020 standings to return. 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, and Imola would initially see Fornaroli as the only real threat for eventual champion Oliver Bearman. He would however lose out shortly after, despite a second pole and more podiums at the Red Bull Ring and Mugello, and reached the season finale at Monza in third position, as part of a four-way fight for second. 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-up Tim Tramnitz and Prema's Kirill Smal and Sebastián Montoya. Fornaroli's closest teammate, Armanni, finished 23 places and 172 points behind him.

Fornaroli also took part in the ADAC Formula 4 with the team as a guest driver for the first two rounds. In those two rounds he competed in, he scored a high of third in the second race in Austria.

Formula Regional

In 2022 Fornaroli made the step up to Formula Regional, first doing a partial campaign in the Asian Championship for Hitech Grand Prix, with a fourth-place qualifying result and a fifth-place finish as highlights, before returning to Europe for the main season with new team Trident, alongside F4 rival Tramnitz and Roman Bilinski. Consistency would prove to be the Italian's biggest trait, as he went on to score points in 15 of the 20 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 the Hungaroring.

FIA Formula 3

2023

At the end of September 2022, Fornaroli partook in the FIA Formula 3 post-season test with Trident, partnering Oliver Goethe and FRECA rival Gabriel Bortoleto on all three days. On 3 December 2022, on his 18th birthday, it was announced that Fornaroli would be part of the team's 2023 line-up alongside Bortoleto and Goethe. He started his season with eighth in Bahrain, but was a victim of puncture in the feature race. He would prove his worth in Melbourne, where he qualified and finished fourth in the feature race. Fornaroli took his first podium with second in Monaco during the sprint race after holding off Grégoire Saucy. He followed it up with a third place during the Barcelona sprint race. He was on the hunt for more points in the feature race, but was pushed off-track by Luke Browning on the opening lap.

Fornaroli took his maiden pole position in Silverstone, forming a Trident 1-2 ahead of teammate Oliver Goethe. In the feature race, he would get bested by Goethe and fall to second place, but nevertheless grabbed a huge haul of points. He would qualify in the top 3 in both Hungary and Spa-Francorchamps, but would only earn four points from the two rounds. After an eighth place during the sprint race in Monza, Fornaroli ranked 11th in the standings with 69 points, amassing three podiums and a pole position that year.

2024: FIA Formula 3 Champion

Fornaroli and Trident continued their relationship together for the 2024 season. A podium in Bahrain came before a second place from pole at Melbourne, where Fornaroli lost the lead to Dino Beganovic at the midway point. The Imola 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. More points came throughout the next four events, with a highlight being third place at Barcelona; Fornaroli was fourth overall going into the final three rounds of the season. Fornaroli remained consistent at Budapest and Spa, where he paired up respective points finishes in the sprint races with third-place finishes on both Sundays.

With these results, Fornaroli went into the season finale at Monza as the championship leader, sitting one point ahead of Gabriele Minì. 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. On the opening lap of the feature race Fornaroli lost the lead to Alex Dunne and would soon find himself fighting for the top five positions. Whilst Sami Meguetounif was able to clear his competitors for an eventual victory, Fornaroli would battle Minì and Christian 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. Minì was later disqualified for incorrect tyre pressures, meaning that Fornaroli inherited second. 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.

FIA Formula 2

2024

In November 2024, Fornaroli announced that he would make his Formula 2 debut early for the Yas Marina round with Rodin Motorsport in place of Zane Maloney, as the Barbadian has clashing Formula E commitments.

2025

Just days after Fornaroli clinched the 2024 FIA Formula 3 title, he announced that he would step up to Formula 2 with Invicta Racing for 2025.

Karting record

Karting career summary

Racing record

Racing career summary

Season still in progress.

Complete Italian F4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

As Fornaroli was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.

Complete Formula Regional Asian Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate the fastest lap of top ten finishers)

Complete Formula Regional European Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete FIA Formula 3 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate points for the fastest lap of the top ten finishers)

Complete FIA Formula 2 Championship results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Season still in progress.

References

1. "Leonardo Fornaroli si prepara all'esordio nel campionato italiano". Libertà (in Italian). 20 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
2. "Leonardo Fornaroli seals Trident Motorsport deal for 2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine". Formula Regional EU by Alpine. 23 February 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
3. "2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine – Standings". motorsportstats.com. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
4. "Doppio titolo nella Championkart per il Team Driver". racepilot.it (in Italian). 26 September 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
5. "Winter Cup e Team Driver insieme per un super week end". Team Driver (in Italian). 15 February 2018. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
6. "The 30th Andrea Margutti Trophy successfully reached its conclusion". KartXpress. 9 April 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
7. "Fornaroli Leonardo". Kartcom. 19 February 2016. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
8. "16° Supercorso Federale: i 5 talenti salgono in Formula 4". Motorsport.com (in Italian). 6 November 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
9. "Il giovane talento Leonardo Fornaroli protagonista su una Formula 4". SportPiacenza (in Italian). 7 November 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
10. "Formula 4: c'è anche Iron Lynx con Leonardo Fornaroli". Motorsport.com (in Italian). 29 June 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
11. "Con la preparazione del maestro Rizzi, il talento piacentino Leonardo Fornaroli pronto all'esordio in F4". PiacenzaSera (in Italian). 19 July 2020. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
12. Basso, Luca (1 August 2020). "F4 Italia | Misano, Gara 1: Minì firma la prima davanti a Pizzi e Ugran". Motori Online. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
13. Woollard, Craig (18 October 2020). "Delli Guanti takes first Italian F4 victory at Monza despite smoking engine". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
14. Ciacci, Alessandro (22 December 2020). "A Vallelunga lo spettacolo del Supercorso ACI Sport - Velocità". San Marino RTV (in Italian). Retrieved 4 April 2022.
15. Allen, Peter (4 March 2021). "Fornaroli returns with Iron Lynx in Italian F4, joined by Armanni". Formula Scout. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
16. "Fornaroli stunning ahead of Bearman and Hamda Al Qubaisi". ACI Sport. 5 June 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
17. "Fornaroli crede ancora nel titolo: "La squalifica di Bearman riapre i giochi"". italiaracing.net (in Italian). 1 September 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
18. "At Monza, the grand finale of the Italian F.4 Championship powered by Abarth". Stellantis. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
19. "2021 Classifiche IF4C" (PDF). ACI Sport. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
20. Wood, Ida (10 June 2021). "Iron Lynx and Jenzer join grid of ADAC F4 opener". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
21. Allen, Peter (12 June 2021). "Bearman doubles up in ADAC F4 opener at Red Bull Ring". Formula Scout. Retrieved 19 December 2024.
22. "Hitech confirm 2022 Formula Regional Asian Championship driver line-up". Hitech Grand Prix. 6 January 2022. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
23. Botticelli, Daniele (23 February 2022). "Formula Regional | Leonardo Fornaroli completa la line up di Trident Motorsport". P300.it (in Italian). Retrieved 5 July 2022.
24. "Fornaroli completes Trident Motorsport's 2022 Formula Regional European Championship by Alpine lineup". Trident Motorsport. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
25. Forbes, Gonzalo (9 July 2022). "Hongrie – Course 1 : Haverkort l'emporte facilement". AutoHebdo (in French).
26. Tremolada, Mattia (23 October 2022). "Mugello - Gara 2: Vittoria d'orgoglio per Minì, Fornaroli campione tra i rookie". italiaracing.net (in Italian).
27. "Formula 3 returns to action with post-season testing in Jerez". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
28. "Jerez post-season testing Day 2 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
29. "Jerez post-season testing Day 3 entry list". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 22 September 2022. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
30. Wood, Ida (3 December 2022). "Trident promotes Leonardo Fornaroli to its FIA F3 line-up". Formula Scout. Retrieved 3 December 2022.
31. "Bortoleto, Goethe claim memorable 1-2 finish in Bahrain". Trident Motorsport. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
32. "Leonardo Fornaroli's Melbourne Weekend In His Words". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 4 April 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
33. "2023 Round 4 post-Sprint Race press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
34. "2023 Round 5 post-Sprint Race press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 3 June 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
35. Alonso Lopez, Alejandro (12 June 2023). "Change of F3 race approach pays dividends for Fornaroli at Barcelona". Formula Scout. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
36. "QUALIFYING: Fornaroli takes maiden pole in Trident 1-2 at Silverstone". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
37. "2023 Round 7 post-Qualifying press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 7 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
38. "2023 Round 7 Feature Race: Thoughts from the top 3". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 9 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
39. "2023 Round 8 post-Qualifying press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 21 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
40. "2023 Round 9 post-Qualifying press conference". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 28 July 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
41. "Leonardo Fornaroli: 'Wanting too much too soon cost valuable points'". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 27 September 2023. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
42. "Leonardo Fornaroli returns with Trident for 2024 campaign". FIA_Formula 3® - The Official F3® Website. 2 December 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2023.
43. "Fornaroli edges out Mini for F3 pole in Melbourne". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
44. "Beganovic claims first F3 win of 2024 in Australia Feature". Motorsport Week. 24 March 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
45. Prada, Alessandro (19 May 2024). "Imola 2024, Feature Race: vince Meguetounif, Fornaroli nuovo leader| FP". FormulaPassion.it (in Italian). Retrieved 2 September 2024.
46. Turner, Tori (27 June 2024). "Fornaroli focusing on 'scoring as many points as possible' after regaining F3 lead". Feeder Series. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
47. "FEATURE RACE: Lindblad completes Silverstone double in action-packed affair". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
48. Turner, Tori (23 July 2024). "ART and Tsolov win again as Fornaroli keeps title dreams alive: F3 Hungary recap". Feeder Series. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
49. "A big weekend in the Championship: Spa-Francorchamps Team-by-Team Roundup". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
50. "What We Learned: Some of the key storylines from Round 9 at Spa-Francorchamps". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
51. "Fornaroli takes F3 pole position in Monza as title battle intensifies". GPblog.com. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
52. "SPRINT RACE: Tramnitz earns maiden F3 win around Monza as title fight heads to final day". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
53. "Fornaroli snatches F3 title at final corner as Meguetounif takes Monza Feature win". Motorsport Week. 1 September 2024. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
54. "F3: Leonardo Fornaroli secures drivers' title in final corner as Sami Meguetounif wins Monza Feature Race | Formula 1®". Formula 1® - The Official F1® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
55. "Minì disqualified, several penalised following Monza Feature Race". FIAFormula3® - The Official F3® Website. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
56. McClure, Michael (2 September 2024). "How calmness and consistency helped Fornaroli steal last-gasp F3 title win". Feeder Series. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
57. "Rodin Motorsport confirm Leonardo Fornaroli for the final round at Yas Marina". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
58. "2024 F3 Champion Leonardo Fornaroli steps up to F2 with Invicta Racing". FIA_F2® - The Official F2® Website. 3 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
59. "Leonardo Fornaroli | Racing career profile | Driver Database". www.driverdb.com. Retrieved 21 December 2022.
60. kartcom (19 February 2016). "Fornaroli Leonardo". Kartcom (in French). Retrieved 21 December 2022.

External links

• Leonardo Fornaroli career summary at DriverDB.com

v t e Invicta Racing
FIA Formula 2 Championship	Leonardo Fornaroli (1) Roman Staněk (2)
F4 British Championship	Kai Daryanani (8) Aqil Alibhai (14) Douwe Dedecker (20)
Vehicles	Dallara F2 2024 (F2)

• Living people
• 2004 births
• Italian racing drivers
• Italian F4 Championship drivers
• ADAC Formula 4 drivers
• Formula Regional European Championship drivers
• Formula Regional Asian Championship drivers
• Hitech Grand Prix drivers
• Trident Racing drivers
• FIA Formula 3 Championship drivers
• Iron Lynx drivers
• Sportspeople from Piacenza
• Virtuosi Racing drivers
• FIA Formula 2 Championship drivers
• Rodin Motorsport drivers