Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Formula 2 points leader Leonardo Fornaroli has left an impression on his colleagues at Invicta Racing that has made them question why he has no Formula 1 deal yet.
The rookie has won three of the last six races, and has twice as many points as team-mate Roman Stanek who has three podiums from the last six races himself.
Stanek recently praised their collaborative working style built on having both spent 2022 to 2024 racing for Trident.
“[Fornaroli] is one of the strongest out here. We’ve been working very well together. I’ve learned a lot of stuff from him and I think also it’s the other way around,” he told Formula Scout.
Invicta’s team principal James Robinson echoed that, calling Fornaroli “phenomenal to work with” and felt the race-winning form aligned with “a big step forward” in his adaptation to F2.
“The unique thing about Leo is his ability to execute, and in an unflappable way without mistake,” Robinson said in conversation with Autosport.
“I’m astounded at this stage, being candid, and that I cannot understand why Leo is not with an F1 team right now. He wouldn’t say this, because again, he’s only focused on his next race, so I see it very much as part of my role to say what a lot of people in our team are thinking. And it’s absolutely mind-blowing that he hasn’t been announced for an F1 role for next year already, given that most of the other drivers in the top seven or eight positions in the championship are part of F1 team academies.”
Fornaroli is one of the F2 paddock’s more introverted personalities when interacting with media, so has quietly been getting the job done in F2. Remarkably, he only had one win in his single-seater career prior to F2 and became 2024 FIA Formula 3 champion without a victory.
“If you did take a sort of more Moneyball-style [data-focused] approach, Leo would be the most obvious pick for anybody,” Robinson added.
“If you’re looking to develop a car, you need a driver that can deliver consistency, lap after lap after lap, they can give you that stable data point. Leo does that better than anybody in F2 right now. I think he would be the deal of the century for an F1 team at this stage.”
Last time out at the Hungaroring, Fornaroli mentioned that he “and Roman are working very well and we’re finding [improvements] very well in the simulator”, and when asked about factors behind his race-winning form replied “just hard work”.
Fornaroli also pointed to he and Invicta keeping communication and strategies simple, and did not speculate about his title chances despite a 17-point lead.
“A lot can still happen, but the potential is very good. The equipment I have around the team is amazing. So I hope our pace will be strong until the rest of the year and hope we can fight for a title.”