McLaren signed F2 champion Fornaroli in case Piastri bolts

(GMM) Newly-crowned Formula 2 champion Leonardo Fornaroli (pictured) has finally secured an F1 pathway – and it comes via McLaren, after a year in which he astonishingly competed without belonging to any Formula 1 academy.

As Mundo Deportivo noted when he clinched the title last weekend in Qatar, the 21-year-old Italian had arrived in F2 – and won it at the first attempt – with no contractual ties at all.

“Being a Formula 2 champion should be synonymous with being able to enter the Formula 1 grid,” correspondent Oriol Munoz wrote. “What more does he have to do to open the doors of the Grand Circus?

“Well, for Leonardo Fornaroli, it wasn’t enough.”

But his status as a “free agent” appears to have been part of a deliberate plan. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport’s Jacopo Moretti, Fornaroli’s management avoided academy deals to maximize leverage once his results exploded.

Moretti wrote that the strategy “allowed him a rare degree of leeway at this level – and while it’s true that Fornaroli had a strong chance of signing a contract that would have secured him a race seat right away, the decision to join McLaren represents the best prospect for a future in F1.”

McLaren, having just recently cleared out most of its junior roster, needed a driver who is already close to F1-ready, Moretti claims.

“They needed someone ready for Formula 1, and the immediate bet is Fornaroli,” he wrote.

The Italian’s rise mirrors the profile McLaren increasingly favors – not karting prodigies, but late-surging champions like Gabriel Bortoleto and Oscar Piastri. Moretti highlighted that Fornaroli’s last 18 months included “a last-corner F3 title, then a solo run to the F2 title as a rookie”.

Crucially, the move puts him in real F1 machinery soon. McLaren reportedly intends to use him in FP1 sessions next year, as well as extensive TPC testing in the 2024 MCL38. He is also eligible for the mandatory rookie slot at the upcoming Abu Dhabi post-season test.

Fornaroli himself made his intentions clear to La Repubblica: “I want to get to F1 as soon as possible.”

But the move has also fueled rumors. Austria’s Osterreich newspaper claims McLaren may be future-proofing itself amid speculation that Oscar Piastri – managed by Mark Webber – could walk away early despite extending his contract to 2028.

Should that happen, the paper notes, “the team already has a potential successor in place with this new signing.”

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