Photo: Formula Motorsport Ltd
Leonardo Fornaroli, the 2024 FIA Formula 3 champion, will make his Formula 2 debut in next month’s season finale.
The 19-year-old will join Rodin Motorsport in Abu Dhabi, taking over the car usually driven by Zane Maloney.
Although he is in the thick of a seven-way title fight, lying 34.5 points off the top and third in the standings, Maloney has decided to skip the final round after securing a seat in Formula E with Lola Yamaha Abt. The season-opening Sao Paulo E-Prix takes place on December 7, the same day as the F2 season concludes.
Fornaroli also has his 2025 plans in place, as he will be driving for Virtuosi Racing (branded as Invicta Racing) in F2 next year.
“Very grateful to be able to do the last round of the F2 championship with Rodin Motorsport who are such a good team in the series,” he said. “It will be a big challenge for me because this is my first time in the F2 car without any practice so I have a lot to learn but I can’t wait for it and I’m looking forward to being behind the wheel in Abu Dhabi.”
Fornaroli’s junior single-seater career so far has attracted attention due to his consistency rather than race-winning form. His only victory from 116 races and five years in cars was an Italian Formula 4 race in 2021, and he topped the rookie classification in the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship standings despite never being the top rookie in a race.
Two second places were the best results of his 2024 FIA F3 campaign, but by finishing finishing 18 out of the 20 races in the points he became champion by a sizeable 23 points. He took seven podiums in total, and two pole positions.
“I wish Leo a great weekend in Abu Dhabi. I will miss working with the Rodin team and look forward to seeing their success in the future. But we still have one more weekend in Qatar to look ahead to and finish off our season strongly,” said Maloney, who could take the F2 points lead next weekend.