Leonardo Fornaroli has made the wrong decision for his Formula 1 future by joining McLaren

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Rising talent Leonardo Fornaroli has finally been picked up by a Formula 1 team as he joins the McLaren Driver Development Programme.

It has been truly baffling to see the Italian go without support from an F1 team in his junior career up to this point. He has consistently shown why he is a star for the future.

Fornaroli joined Formula 3 in 2023 and won the title the following season. Interestingly, he never won a race in the category, but displayed incredible consistency to clinch the championship at the final round at Monza.

Moving up to Formula 2 in 2025, he was expected to have a strong year, joining Invicta Racing, who won the 2024 title with Gabriel Bortoleto, a former McLaren junior. Sure enough, Fornaroli grabbed back-to-back championships, sealing the deal in F2 at the penultimate round in Qatar.

The Italian joins the likes of Oscar Piastri, Charles Leclerc and George Russell, who have won both F3 and F2. The trio have since gone on to have great success in Formula 1.

Seeing the same potential, McLaren have snapped up Fornaroli ahead of the 2026 season. However, this may prove to be the wrong decision for multiple reasons.

Joining McLaren was the wrong decision for Leonardo Fornaroli

Speaking to La Gazzetta dello Sport after the news was announced, Fornaroli detailed his plans for 2026: “We’re working on it with McLaren, and once the program is finalised, we’ll announce it together. We’re finalising the final details.

“McLaren offers an excellent racing program, including in the WEC and IndyCar, and I hope to be able to announce my future soon, but my focus remains on Formula 1.”

There are several bleak realities that Fornaroli faces at McLaren. For starters, they will not join WEC until 2027, immediately eliminating that option for 2026.

The Italian recently took part in the Formula E rookie test in Berlin, but the seats are all filled for Season 12, and McLaren just shut their project down after last year. IndyCar is also off the table, with Pato O’Ward, Nolan Siegel and Christian Lundgaard all having contracts.

As a result, Fornaroli’s role for 2026 is likely to be McLaren’s reserve driver in F1, which could jeopardise him, as he will not be in any racing division.

Lando Norris and Piastri have long-term contracts with the team, meaning the 21-year-old will only get a chance if one of them suddenly leaves. The latter has been linked with a move away in 2027, but Leclerc has already emerged as a potential replacement – he will surely be ahead of Fornaroli for the seat.

Ultimately, Fornaroli faces the same reality as Bortoleto and Alex Dunne – they left McLaren because they did not have a seat for them. The F2 champion could fall into the same category due to the team’s limited opportunities not just in F1, but in other categories.

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These Formula 1 teams would have been better for Leonardo Fornaroli

Things may work out for Fornaroli at McLaren, but the reality is that there are other teams on the grid that could have afforded him a better opportunity in F1.

Newcomers Cadillac are the obvious choice, with Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Perez unlikely to be with the team long-term. Furthermore, Audi could have been an option if Nico Hulkenberg decided to call time on his career.

With Franco Colapinto facing pressure, Alpine could have had a seat for Fornaroli in 2027 if he challenged himself against Paul Aron. Likewise, he could have put pressure on Jak Crawford at Aston Martin, with the team said to be considering a new line-up in 2027.

Haas could have an opening if Oliver Bearman is promoted to Ferrari. In fact, the Maranello outfit themselves might have been a better fit with Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton potentially leaving in 2026 – Ferrari would surely love nothing more than an Italian driving their car.