Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli will work next year for McLaren. The 20-year-old Italian, whose consistency brought him the F2 title with Invicta Racing before his first (and last) season at Formula 2 ends, just one year after winning Formula 3 without winning any race, has been signed by McLaren for their development programme, as a test driver for Formula 1.
Next year, Fornaroli will compete in Formula E, the competition with electric cars, but maybe in the future he will become one of the main drivers of the Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri team. In fact, Fornaroli could make his F1 debut next weekend at Abu Dhabi, as Piastri is forced to give up his seat for FP1 before the season ends one more time.
"Winning both the FIA Formula 3 and Formula 2 titles has been an important step in my journey, and I'm motivated to take the next step in my development through the programme as I work toward my ultimate goal of racing at the highest level", said Fornaroli (via Motorsport).
Fornaroli's successes in the junior categories brought interest to McLaren, that nevertheless has reinforced their junior roster with two other names: Richard Verschoor, currently third in Formula 2, and the Spanish karting champion Christian Costoya, only 15 years old.