Photo: McLaren
McLaren has announced the addition of two Formula 2 stars and a top karter to its driver development programme.
Two days after their fates in F2’s title fight were settled, Leonardo Fornaroli and Richard Verschoor join McLaren’s junior ranks.
Fornaroli was crowned champion with a round remaining in the feature race at Losail, and Verschoor was in title contention until that point and now sits third in the standings.
Following that race, Fornaroli told media including Formula Scout that it would be two weeks before his future racing plans were announced, while the self-managed Verschoor said he already knew how we would spend 2026 too.
There have been four race victories so far for Fornaroli in his triumphant rookie F2 season, which comes after he was a win-free 2024 FIA Formula 3 champion as a sophomore. He was 11th in FIA F3’s 2023 standings, and eighth in the 2022 Formula Regional European Championship. In 2026, he will be a test and development driver for McLaren’s Formula 1 team.
“I’m incredibly proud to be joining the MDDP after another successful year on track,” said the 20-year-old Italian.
“Winning both the FIA F3 and F2 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. I’m very grateful to McLaren for this opportunity, and to everyone who has supported me throughout my career so far.”
Verschoor has also won four races in 2025 but is a fifth-year driver in F2. He had won once in each of his previous seasons, and never come higher than eighth in the standings despite three 100-plus point campaigns.
In F3 he won the Macau Grand Prix, but only had two podiums across two-and-a-half GP3/FIA F3 Championship seasons.
“It’s a special moment [to join the MDDP], and I’m grateful for McLaren’s support in allowing me to continue my development within the programme,” said the 24-year-old Dutchman.
The MDDP’s third signing is Christian Costoya, the 2025 CIK-FIA European Karting and WSK Euro Series champion, and WSK Super Master Series runner-up on OK karts.
He was European championship runner-up at the junior level, and has recently done Formula 4 tests with Prema. Next month he makes his single-seater racing debut in F4 United Arab Emirates.
“I’m very excited to join the MDDP and become part of their talent pipeline,” the 15-year-old Spaniard said. “It is great to get the team’s support and be in an environment that is known for developing great drivers.”
Alessandro Alunni Bravi, head of the MDDP since this January, added “all three talented drivers have shown great racecraft with multiple wins this season, alongside a number of impressive performances in their respective championships” and they will be supported “to provide options for all of our expanding racing teams” in F1, IndyCar and the World Endurance Championship. That means “a wide range of testing and progression opportunities” with those squads.