Leonardo Fornaroli

Leonardo Fornaroli
Fornaroli driving for Trident during the 2024 Spielberg Formula 3 round
Nationality	Italian
Born	(2004-12-03) 3 December 2004 (age 19) Piacenza, Italy
FIA Formula 3 Championship career
Debut season	2023
Current team	Trident
Car number	4
Starts	34 (34 entries)
Wins	0
Podiums	8
Poles	2
Fastest laps	2
Best finish	1st in 2024
Previous series
2023–2024 2022 2022 2020–2021 2020–2021	FIA Formula 3 Championship FR European Championship FR Asian Championship Italian F4 Championship ADAC Formula 4
Championship titles
2024 2022	FIA Formula 3 Championship FR European Rookie Championship

Leonardo Fornaroli (born 3 December 2004), also known as Leo Fornaroli, is an Italian racing driver who is set to compete in the FIA Formula 2 Championship with Rodin Motorsport, before competing in the series full-time in 2025 with Invicta Racing. 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. He is also the 2022 Formula Regional European rookie champion.^[1][2][3]

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.^[4] 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.^[5] 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.^[6][7] 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.^[8][9]

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.^[10][11] He repaid the faith straightaway, taking a solid fourth-place finish on debut at Misano.^[12] He would go on to score 8 top-five finishes from 20 races, including a podium at Monza, and finished 9th 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.^[13]

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.^[14] 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,^[15] and Imola would initially see Fornaroli as the only real threat for eventual champion Oliver Bearman.^[16] 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.^[17] The weekend did not go to plan for him, as he faced a lowly 9th 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.^[18]

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,^[19] before returning to Europe for the main season with new team Trident, alongside F4 rival Tramnitz and Roman Bilinski.^[20][21] 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.^[22][23]

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.^[24][25][26] 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.^[27] He started his season with eighth in Bahrain, but was a victim of puncture in the feature race.^[28] He would prove his worth in Melbourne, where he qualified and finished fourth in the feature race.^[29] Fornaroli took his first podium with second in Monaco during the sprint race after holding off Grégoire Saucy.^[30] He followed it up with a third place during the Barcelona sprint race.^[31] He was on the hunt for more points in the feature race, but was pushed off-track by Luke Browning on the opening lap.^[32]

Fornaroli took his maiden pole position in Silverstone, forming a Trident 1-2 ahead of teammate Oliver 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 3 in both Hungary and Spa-Francorchamps, but would only earn four points from the two rounds.^[36][37] 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.^[38]

Fornaroli and Trident continued their relationship together for the 2024 season.^[39] 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.^[40][41] 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.^[42] 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.^[43][44] 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.^[45][46]

With these results, Fornaroli went into the season finale at Monza as the championship leader, sitting one point ahead of Gabriele 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 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.^[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 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.^[54]

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.^[55]

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
	Trofeo Andrea Margutti — 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:[56][57]

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†
	FIA Central European Zone Formula 4		2	1	1	1	2	43	3rd
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	0	0	0	0	0	0	TBD*
2025	FIA Formula 2 Championship	Invicta Racing	0	0	0	0	0	0	TBD

^* Season still in progress.

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics 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 in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics 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 in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics 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 in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics 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 in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics 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 in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics 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	YMC FEA	TBD*	TBD*
2025	Invicta Racing	MEL SPR	MEL FEA	BHR SPR	BHR FEA	JED SPR	JED FEA	IMO SPR	IMO FEA	MON SPR	MON FEA	CAT SPR	CAT FEA	RBR SPR	RBR FEA	SIL SPR	SIL FEA	SPA SPR	SPA FEA	HUN SPR	HUN FEA	MNZ SPR	MNZ FEA	BAK SPR	BAK FEA	LSL SPR	LSL FEA	YMC SPR	YMC FEA	TBD	TBD

^* Season still in progress.

• Leonardo Fornaroli career summary at DriverDB.com

Sporting positions
Preceded by Gabriel Bortoleto	FIA Formula 3 Championship Champion 2024	Succeeded by Incumbent